WholeHogSports
SEC Basketball Coaches Teleconference : Road woes plaguing most SEC hoop teams
Posted on Tuesday, March 4, 2008
URL: http://www.wholehogsports.com/nwat/62824/
Arkansas’ John Pelphrey isn’t the only SEC coach feeling the pain of failure on the conference road. Some head men vented their road frustrations on Monday’s SEC Basketball Coaches Teleconference.
In 2007, SEC teams posted by far their lowest conference road winning percentage since 2000 (25 percent ). This year the percentage is actually up (33. 3 percent ), but that’s little comfort for SEC coaches.
“ We see plays made in Bud Walton Arena that we don’t see on the road, ” Pelphrey said. “ We see a lot of things at home that we don’t see on the road. I think the University of Arkansas deserves a basketball team that can play both places. ”
At 0-7, Georgia, Ole Miss and Alabama are the three league teams yet to taste SEC victory on the road this season.
“ The atmosphere of a road game can have an impact on players, especially young players, ” Georgia coach Dennis Felton said. “ It can have an impact on the home team, how it energizes them.
“ And I think it can have an effect on officiating, in terms of an official getting caught up in the momentum. ”
At 5-2, Mississippi State and Tennessee have the league’s best road records. Not surprisingly, those two teams are division leaders.
“ The home crowd inspires the home team, ” Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said. “ It allows you to make runs and get some momentum. It can be an intimidating factor for the visiting team, as you see the opponent make shots and go on runs. ”
To win on the road, Pearl said teams need to play well early and coaches need to play the same style they do at home. But he said the main ingredient to road success is experience.
“ You don’t find many young teams that are successful on the road, ” Pearl said. “ You have to go on the road, get beat, and learn from it. ”
Pelphrey’s senior-laden Razorbacks are very experienced, yet still stand at 2-5 on the SEC road.
“ There are programs that seem to always stay focused [on the road ] and give themselves a chance, ” Pelphrey said. “ It doesn’t mean you’re always going to win, but you’ve got a chance. I think our team needs to improve in that department. ”
Pelphrey’s opponent today, Ole Miss head man Andy Kennedy, has fielded the league’s most Jekyll and Hyde team this season. Winless on the road, Kennedy’s Rebels are 5-3 in SEC play at Tad Smith Coliseum in Oxford.
“ I think all of us coaches are frustrated that we can’t bottle some what we’re able to do at home and take it on the road, ” Kennedy said. “ Everyone seems to play with a sense of comfort while they’re at home and I don’t know why that is.
“ Obviously, when you’re on the road you can’t depend on external motivators. It all has to come from within. ”
With schools packing arenas with blaring bands and screaming fans, it’s easy to see how some teams get up at home and crash on the road.
“ Some teams have a swagger at home and they go on the road and they’re tentative, ” Pearl said. “ And I think that just comes from the support [of the home crowd ]. Basketball is a game of momentum and the crowd can really bring that up. ”
Mississippi State’s Rick Stansbury, known for stomping on the sideline, will lead his team into arguably the league’s toughest place to play — Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gym — on Wednesday.
“ Unfortunately, stomping up there [at Vanderbilt ] won’t be good enough, ” Stansbury said. “... And I’ve got a bad heel, so I’m out of the stomping business right now. ”
Stansbury knows that his SEC West champion Bulldogs are facing a tall order, winning at a building that has turned back 31 of its last 32 visitors and claimed four straight No. 1 teams.
“ Ever ybody’s good at home, ” Stansbur y said. “ What separates the teams that compete for championships is winning on the road. Offense is going to come and go, but defending and rebounding can be constant for you on the road. ”