Big West Teams Get Called for Traveling

Life on the road has been a challenge for Big West Conference basketball teams this season.

The six teams in the Western Division have won only four of 31 games away from home--three of those on neutral courts--even though they have won 27 of 37 at home.

It hasn’t been quite as bad for the Eastern Division. Those teams, with a 27-5 record at home, are a combined 12-26 on the road, but five of those victories have come on neutral courts.

It’s not the kind of showing that provides a lot of confidence for any of them as league play begins today.

Even Pacific, rated as the conference’s top team, has won only two of six games on the road. The only team with a winning record away from home is New Mexico State. The Aggies, playing for interim Coach Lou Henson, are 1-1 on opponents’ courts and 2-1 at neutral sites.

Cal State Fullerton Coach Bob Hawking, whose team has won all five games at home but lost all five on the road, is wrestling with that inconsistency as other coaches are.

“I don’t want to make it more of a psychological thing than it is, but it’s just different on the road,” Hawking said. “It’s not like sleeping in your own bed, and playing in the setting you practice in every day.”

It shows in the numbers. The Titans are averaging 83 points and shooting 47.8% from the field at home. On the road, they’re averaging only 66 points and shooting 37.6% from the field.

“Our idea going in was to play a tough nonconference schedule and we’ve done that,” Hawking said. Fullerton has lost at Utah, UCLA, Pepperdine, Wisconsin Green Bay and Loyola of Chicago.

“Two of those are top 10 teams and I believe we’ve played as tough a schedule as anyone in the Big West,” Hawking said. “I would have liked to have been 7-3, the way we were last year, but I think playing the teams we have on the road will help us in the conference. We won’t see anything there that will come as a shock to us.”

The Titans will find out quickly. They open conference play tonight at New Mexico State, which has the Big West’s best record at 10-4. Other games today send Long Beach State to Nevada, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to Boise State, UC Santa Barbara to Idaho, Pacific to Utah State and UC Irvine to North Texas.

A look at the Big West before the start of conference play:

Western Division

PACIFIC (8-6)--The Tigers remain the team to beat in the division even though they go into conference play with three consecutive road losses, against Stanford, Baylor and Illinois State. Center Michael Olowokandi, however, has shown he can be the conference’s most dominant player. He is averaging 20.1 points, shooting 66% from the field and leading the conference in rebounds and blocked shots.

CAL POLY SAN LUIS OBISPO (7-5)--The Mustangs again aren’t eligible for the postseason tournament, but they might be deserving this season in their second year in the conference. Cal Poly has won all seven games at home, but lost all five away. Guard Mike Wozniak leads the conference in scoring (20.4 points), and the rebounding has improved.

CAL STATE FULLERTON (5-5)--The Titans have two of the conference’s top guards in Chris Dade (17.8 points) and Chris St. Clair (12.5), but their inside game has been inconsistent. The key might be how steady sophomore Ike Harmon (13.3 points) is the rest of the way and how successful Fullerton is at keeping the tempo fast.

LONG BEACH STATE (5-7)--The key for the 49ers is 7-foot-1 center Andrew Betts, a senior transfer from C.W. Post in New York. Betts played his first game against San Diego State Dec. 23, and then had 31 points and nine rebounds in an 81-71 upset of USC. If consistent, he could make Long Beach stronger than expected.

UC SANTA BARBARA (3-7)--Things may finally be settling down after early-season turmoil. Disgruntled players called for the resignation of Jerry Pimm, the Gauchos’ longtime coach, in December. Pimm reportedly addressed their concerns, and has stayed on. But it has been a heavy burden for a player as talented as guard Raymond Tutt.

UC IRVINE (3-7)--This is a season of limited expectations for the Anteaters, but at least they have some expectations. A year ago they were 0-9 when conference play began, losing seven of those games by 20 or more points to teams like Eastern Washington and Cal State Northridge. This season, they already have three victories. Two were against Division II teams, but the Anteaters have been competitive in nearly every game under first-year Coach Pat Douglass. Considering the weakness of the Western Division, they might have a shot at making the conference tournament.

Eastern Division

NEW MEXICO STATE (10-4)--The Aggies are one of the conference’s most talented teams with guard Denmark Reid (18.6 points) and forward Louis Richardson (18.0). They are holding opponents to 65.2 points per game and average 74.8. New Mexico State lost two close games to New Mexico, split with Texas El Paso and defeated Ohio State and Virginia in the Rainbow Classic in Hawaii.

UTAH STATE (9-4)--The Aggies have gotten off to another solid start under Coach Larry Eustachy. They won an early-season game at Minnesota and are unbeaten in seven games at home. Guard Marcus Saxon, a returning starter, is the team’s top threat, averaging 17.7 points.

BOISE STATE (8-5)--The Broncos have been an early-season surprise, winning at home against Washington State and giving Pepperdine and UCLA close games before losing on the road. Boise State is playing its normal strong pressure defense and leads the conference in steals and turnover margin.

IDAHO (6-4)--The Vandals are solid on defense but are averaging only 65 points. Avery Curry, a senior point guard who transferred from Florida State, has been the key player.

NEVADA (4-5)--The Wolf Pack was expected to be a contender for the division title before the season began, and still might be despite a slow start. Nevada has been the victim of a tough schedule, losing to Colorado State and Texas Tech at home and Oregon and Wisconsin on the road.

NORTH TEXAS (1-9)--Talk about having trouble on the road: The Eagles have played nine of their 10 games away from home, and all but the victory against Arkansas Little Rock have been against high-powered opponents, including Alabama, North Carolina State and Oklahoma State. Their only home game: a 116-94 loss to Texas.

Times staff writer Chris Foster contributed to this story.