More Home/Away Splits

Yesterday I only looked at teams I had as top 6 seeds in my Bracketology, but there's really no sense in stopping there. My "study" didn't include teams with seeds of 7 and below, but one would think the trend would hold for them as well.

So, from teamrankings.com, here are the 7-12 seeds (according to Parrish), that have fared much worse on the road than at home.

I had not realized how huge the Razorbacks' split is. In SEC play, they were 7-1 at home, 2-6 on the road. Alabama and Georgia are teams they should beat, regardless of location. Arkansas had no true road wins out of conference either, although they did beat Baylor in Dallas.

Michigan St.'s ridiculousness has been well documented. They did not lose in East Lansing all year, but were 3-6 on the road in the Big 10. If they had just won at Iowa and Penn St., they would've finished 14-4 in the Big 10, and would be looking at something a lot higher than a 6 seed.

After watching Saint Mary's get every call at the end of their win over Gonzaga, I'm not surprised to see them here. They were 6-0 on the road in the WCC against non-Gonzaga opponents, but most of those teams are pretty bad, and they only beat the best of the bunch, Santa Clara, by 4. They also lost @San Diego in the conference tourney, @Southern Illinois by 15, and @Texas by 19. The Gaels were 15-1 at home.

Now, the teams with opposite splits, that could be dangerous next week.

Injuries might play a role in Arizona's split. Bayless missed two each home and away, but five of the seven games Nic Wise missed were in Tucson. They were actually 4-5 on the road in the Pac-10, which is excellent considering they had the same record at home. A December win @UNLV, and taking Kansas to OT in Lawrence, were also impressive showings.

Baylor's quintuple-OT win @Texas A&M contributes to both teams appearing on the list. The Bears' road resume is otherwise uninspring, although 4-4 away from home in the Big 12 is pretty solid. Maybe you can figure this Texas A&M team out, but I sure can't.

UMass was really good on the road in the A-10- 5-3, including an OT loss @Temple, and losing @St. Joes by 4. If they win in the A-10 quarters, I think they should be in, and are an upset candidate.