Teams are supposed to win at home and road games should be the deciding factor as to whether they can compete as one of the best.

The men’s basketball team has proven the home court advantage theory by going 11-3 so far, but it’s still stuck below mediocrity because of its inability to compete away from Fort Worth.

With only one win in 10 tries at opposing venues, the Horned Frogs have shown little chance of being able to contend in the Mountain West Conference.

Promising wins against San Diego State and New Mexico at home have been immediately nullified by poor play on the road.

Teams TCU handily beat at home seem like completely new ones on the road. TCU dominated its first game against Wyoming winning 83-56. In the second meeting in Laramie, the Cowboys won by 19.

TCU’s lone win away from Daniel-Meyer Coliseum came against Colorado State, a team that has not won a conference game all season and is only 3-7 at home.

With five games left in its season, a 4-7 conference record and two away games, the Horned Frogs have to win at least one game on the road to even finish .500 in the Mountain West.

The inability to win on the road has been a glaring problem since TCU joined the conference.

The five remaining games TCU has left are against teams it has gone 1-4 against this season. Things don’t look too good.

In its first season in the conference, TCU failed to win a single game on the road finishing 0-14, and in its second season TCU was only able to win two games, finishing with a 2-10 road record.

Head coach Neil Dougherty has been very open with his opinions on the differences between the other conference universities home crowds and TCU’s.

The big game atmosphere that comes with a raucous home crowd has had some obvious effects on the Horned Frogs’ road play as has the lack of crowds in Daniel-Meyer.

The average crowd the basketball team has faced this season is 7,746 compared to 3,389 at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.

Even with 14 home games and 10 away games this season, the difference in attendance numbers is more than 30,000 people, with the advantage belonging to the road crowds.

Fortunately, the team has performed well at home, thanks in part to Dougherty’s pleas for student support.

In its third season facing tough Mountain West crowds, the Horned Frogs should have the tough road experience needed to compete.

Last year’s regular season conference champions BYU lost only one conference game on the road – its only conference loss of the season.

The qualifications for a good team are simple. Win at home and take the majority of games on the road.

TCU is halfway down the road, but the other half appears to be a much more difficult journey.