Can Texas win on the road? It's a must in order to win the Big 12

The No. 10 Texas Longhorns currently lead the Big 12 Conference by one game over a quartet of teams with 6-3 records in league play. The Longhorns, sitting at 7-2, are ahead of No. 8 Kansas, No. 7 Kansas State, No. 15 TCU, and No. 13 Iowa State halfway through the conference schedule.

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The five teams that make up the top half of the conference have played a total of 23 home games and have combined to lose just three contests. Texas’ loss to Kansas State, Kansas’ loss to TCU, and TCU’s loss to Iowa State are the only blemishes from those vying for the Big 12 crown.

Taking care of business at home is almost expected from top teams in the Big 12, especially with the Longhorns’ new home in the Moody Center entering the “difficult road environment” conversation along with Phog Allen Fieldhouse, Bramlage Coliseum, and Hilton Coliseum.

Doing the same on the road? That’s a tall order in any conference but arguably more so in the Big 12. So far, Texas has just one loss on the road in conference play, a 78-67 loss to ISU in Ames, Iowa on January 17.

That’s the only loss in four road contests for the Horns. Texas is 3-1 on the road in Big 12 play. Every other team in the conference, including the four teams one game back of UT, has at least two road losses.

That road record is the differentiator between first place and a tie for second.

Kansas is currently 2-2 in road games, falling short in games at K-State and at Baylor. TCU has the same mark away from home, with losses in Austin and in Morgantown, W. Va.

ISU and KSU are 2-3 when in hostile environments. The Cyclones dropped road games at Kansas, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech. The loss to the Red Raiders helped TTU notch their first conference win of the season. K-State succumbed to their two biggest rivals, Kansas and Iowa State, in road affairs.

With such similar records and one game separating the Longhorns for the rest of the pack, any margin Texas can exploit is critical in the search for the program’s first Big 12 regular season title since 2008.

And in the coming days and weeks, the Horns’ resolve on the road will be tested.

Starting on Saturday, Rodney Terry’s team begins a stretch of two games in three days versus a pair of Sunflower State schools. The Horns travel to Manhattan, Kan. on Saturday for an afternoon showdown with the Wildcats at Bramlage Coliseum, a.k.a. the “Octagon of Doom.”

Then on Monday, Texas makes its first trip of the year to the always difficult setting of Phog Allen Fieldhouse to play the Jayhawks. Texas won in Manhattan last year but lost in Lawrence in the final game of the regular season. That KU win gave Bill Self’s team a share of the Big 12 regular season title.

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Once the Horns return from their Kansas road swing, they’ll face West Virginia in the Moody Center before traveling to Lubbock to face Texas Tech on Big Monday. Despite the current situation the Red Raiders find themselves in, the West Texas fans always get up for the one time a year Texas travels to the United Supermarkets Arena.

Two more home games versus Oklahoma and Iowa State follow, then Texas makes an IH-35 road trip to face Baylor on February 25 and TCU on March 1 before closing the season at home March 4 versus Kansas.

Defending homecourt is a must to compete for the conference crown, but so too is taking advantage of road opportunities.

With a one game lead halfway through conference play, finishing above .500 in the five remaining road games likely gives the Horns the inside track toward the conference crown.

They have to take care of business at home, of course. But in this league, teams have to take care of business everywhere.