Why are Self's teams so mediocre on the road?

For the past four years we've been under .500 on the road. Why?

This would take a deeper analysis. For example, how does KU compare to other programs (i.e. what is the benchmark/baseline for top 5 teams away records?).

Also, there's the causation vs. correlation dilemma. Our teams over the past 4 years have performed below our typical standard. Is the lower performance partially caused by the road games, or is subpar play away from home merely a reflection of overall mediocre performance across the board (a correlation)?

Finally, I think we'd need to look at the schedule and look at SOS of our road schedule to see if that's gotten stronger or stayed the same. The Big 12 has expanded adding more competitive teams to our schedule, and KU has historically scheduled a difficult non-con schedule, so a deeper dive would be necessary to understand those changes if they exist.

My 'best guess' is simply that we've had a 4 year "slump" that we're all aware of and have discussed ad nauseum over the past 4 years: the injury-laded "fizzle" we experienced in the stretch in '23, the failed Hunter experiments of '24 and '25, and this year's Peterson issues all resulted in flawed teams that would have a harder time winning in hostile places.

I'm guessing the counter argument to this revolves around some of the absolute turds we've produced on the road recently where we've lost games like WVU and ASU this year, UCF last year, and some others that I have thankfully blocked from my memory. These "unforced errors" could demonstrate a negligence in being prepared to play.

Finally a conspiracy theory: The KU team planes/busses are clearly jinxed and need to be replaced or at least exorcised of whatever demons have possessed them.

Lack of Phog?

--RC

In the past three years, our winning percentage away from the Fieldhouse is 47.2% (25-28). And that includes quite a few games at T-Mobile with very friendly atmospheres. In the preceding ten years, we won at a 67.7% clip (132-63).

Correct. In years past, if the strategy was to win all the home games and half (or actually half +1) of your road games in the conference slate, and you'd win the regular season title.

In the preseason, we play very few "true" road games and most of the neutral court games are against the top opponents, so many of those are 'toss up" odds.

Nevertheless, my point is that I think it's just a correlation of having more flawed teams over the last year than something specific to road games. We're losing at home too which is un-KU-like. Bad teams can lose anywhere. That's why they're bad teams.

The paradox is we beat Arizona, ISU, and Houston at home and then get absolutely hammered at their house. The differences are so profound it's as if we were two different teams. Being that bi-polar is not ............normal. So what is it that makes us terrific at home and just awful on the road? NIL and the portal explain a lot about team construction, but does not explain the bizarre performance differential.

Kong, I've often thought about what you said and happen to agree with it. I can't think of any other reason that it can be chalked up to. His health? His competitive fire (which I don't think has waned)?

Again, I think what you wrote perfectly captures the reason for the lesser play.


Our team in 2022 you had:
senior Agbaji (a hugely developed player)
senior McCormack (same)
junior Braun (same)
junior KJ Adam (a hugely developed role player)
Transfer Remy Martin (didn't need to be a star, but was the consummate spark plug with his scoring ability)

Put that together and the sum of whole is greater than its parts.

Since that year (NIL/Portal additions), the above development and chemistry just wasn't able to take place. Even a masterful coach such as Bill Self can't add three years of experience to first year players.

Good point on the bipolar thing. NIL and portal = immature players who might not be used to playing in bigtime hostile environments. Even the random one-and-done could often rely on a couple of juniors and seniors on the floor who have built up callouses to the adversities you face on the road.

I have a partial solution, by the way: lock all NIL atheletes into 2-year contracts. If you want NIL, you have to stay 2 years and can't transfer. Even if you quit the team, you can't play elsewhere within that 2-year period. It essentially brings back the "sit a year if you transfer" rule, but disallows the transfer. If you only want to play for 1 year, you either don't get paid, or you go to the G-league.

Toss in some kind of salary cap and maybe we have a road back to sanity.

I think that may be seen if we look at made baskets vs assists. I remember when we we would have assists to over 50% of the baskets but it doesn't seem like that is the case these days. I would happily defer to Corpus's analytics but that is what it seems like to me.

yesterday it worked and said I had 60 minutes. but today it doesn't. I guess I don't get to watch.