CBS radio host Doug Gottlieb made the point this week that #4 Virginia hasn’t really beaten anybody on the road yet, and he’s not far off.
The Cavs’ best true road win came at KenPom.com #47 Ohio State on Dec. 5, and UVA is just 1-2 in true road games after its 70-68 loss at Virginia Tech on Monday.
To be fair, there aren’t a lot of true road wins for the AP Top 5 right now, just a week into conference play in the 2015-2016 season.
Top-ranked Kansas, for instance, has played only one true road game, a 70-57 win at KenPom.com #82 San Diego State on Dec. 22.
#2 Oklahoma is 2-1 in true road games, winning at KenPom.com #65 Memphis, 84-78, on Nov. 17 and at KenPom.com #53 Hawaii, 84-81, on Dec. 23, before losing at Kansas in three overtimes on Monday.
Maryland, #3 in the polls, is 1-1 in true road games, losing at #6 North Carolina, 89-81, on Dec. 1, and winning at KenPom.com #67 Northwestern, 72-59, on Jan. 2.
Fifth-ranked Michigan State is 2-1 in true road games, beating KenPom.com #81 Northeastern, 78-58, on Dec. 19, losing at KenPom.com #12 Iowa, 83-70, on Dec. 29, and winning at KenPom.com #158 Minnesota, 69-61, on Jan. 2.
That puts the rest of the Top 5 at 6-3 in true road games, with the best win being … Virginia’s win at Ohio State.
For what it’s worth, UNC is 1-2 in true roadies, #9 Kentucky is 0-2, both losses by double digits, and defending national champ Duke is 2-0, both of its wins coming against teams outside the KenPom.com Top 100.
Which is to say, there just aren’t a lot of these Ws to go bragging about in the here and now.
– Column by Chris Graham
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