Statistics tell us that the home team wins more than 70
percent of the time in college basketball. So the fact that UALR Coach Steve
Shields’ teams have won 44 percent of their Sun Belt Conference road games is
remarkable. Take away the 2009-2010 season and his percentage jumps to 50
percent on the road.
But it hasn’t translated yet for this season’s group of
Trojans, who are still looking for their first victory away at home as they
begin a road swing to Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky.
Since arriving at UALR in the 2003-2004 season, Shields’ teams
are 33-42 in Sun Belt road games. That number includes the 2009-2010 team that
went 0-9 on the road. And that was a season in which UALR just kept finding
ways to lose on the road.
UALR started that season on its way to upsetting South
Alabama on ESPN2. But a second-half injury to Mike Smith allowed that game to
slip away. It became a trend. Buzzer beaters and late-game shots seemed to go
the other way. It was a team that couldn’t seem to find a path to break
through.
And it was in complete contrast to the previous year. After
losing its Sun Belt opener to Western Kentucky, the 2008-2009 Trojans won their
final eight Sun Belt road games
UALR’s Sun Belt road losing streak reached 11 games before
winning 78-70 at Florida International on Jan. 20, 2011. UALR went 2-6 on the
road that season and 6-2 last season.
The Trojans are 0-3 on the road in Sun Belt play this
season, including losses at South Alabama, Louisiana-Lafayette and Troy. They’ve
held the lead in the second half of two of those games and were as close as 2
points with 10 minutes left in the other.
Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky are traditionally two
of the toughest places in the Sun Belt to get victories. But if UALR hopes to
split on the road in Sun Belt play this season, the Trojans will have to win
five of the remaining seven including stops at Western Kentucky, Middle
Tennessee, North Texas, Arkansas State, Florida International, Florida Atlantic
and Louisiana-Monroe.