Southeastern Conference men's basketball teams seeking a jolt to their season simply need to board a bus or a plane.
Visiting teams won five of the SEC's seven head-to-head matchups Saturday, with Florida nearly pulling off a sixth victory before falling 63-62 at Texas A&M. Saturday's showing followed a 6-1 road ravaging last week during midweek games, giving SEC visiting teams an 11-3 mark since Kentucky escaped LSU, Arkansas won at Auburn and Alabama triumphed at Mississippi State last Tuesday night.
"The road teams were very successful in the league last week, obviously, and I don't know if there is something I could pinpoint," Georgia coach Mark Fox said on Monday's league teleconference. "I do know that there are a lot of good teams in this league and that every night is going to be a challenge. There are going to be a lot of great games that come down to the wire."
Fox's Bulldogs won at Texas A&M last Wednesday only to come home Saturday and lose to Auburn.
Road teams are 16-12 in SEC play this month, with Auburn winning at LSU and Georgia but losing at home to Ole Miss and Arkansas. Tennessee developed road success in early January and is 4-2 in league games away from Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Volunteers are 2-4 in conference games at their home facility.
"One thing that goes against what you're saying is that a lot of teams are doing a better job of drawing," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "We've lost our last three home games, and we've lost them in virtual sellouts. That hasn't affected the opponent, and Georgia had a great crowd on Saturday and Ole Miss had a great crowd against Arkansas.
"When I was at Tennessee, I used to feel like you could go on the road and win because not everybody was drawing, but it seems like everybody has improved that."
Pearl believes the middle and the bottom of the SEC are stronger now than they were a decade ago, which could be playing a role, and then there are the differing schedules the players go through depending on the game's location. Pearl said Auburn's players would be in class all day Monday with a study session Monday evening, and then they will be in classes all day today.
His Tigers host Alabama tonight in a contest that tips at 9 EST on ESPNU.
"There is a greater focus on the road, and there is a lot less pressure on the road team," Pearl said. "Sometimes the kids play more relaxed. When you go on the road, we bring our books and we bring our tutors, but game day is a little different.
"Teams especially who have veterans can be more relaxed on the road and more focused."
Kentucky could tally another triumph tonight for the road team when the top-ranked Wildcats visit Tennessee, as could Alabama at Auburn and LSU at Texas A&M.
"The parity in our league is so close that on any given night, it doesn't matter whether you're at home or away," LSU coach Johnny Jones said.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.