Riding a five game winning streak, the hoops Hogs began conference play last night in College Station against one of the worst rebounding teams in the SEC. The result, an 18 point loss in which the Hogs were out played, out rebounded, out everything.

Wesley Hitt, Getty Images
Wesley Hitt, Getty Images
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The Hogs were an abysmal 4-15 from the foul line, shot .42 percent from the field and were out rebounded 47-25. A typical road performance for a team that's only won three road games in the past three seasons.

For Arkansas, losing on the road has become the norm. Every year it seems to be the same thing, no matter who the coach is or who the players are on the court. At home they look like they could beat anybody, on the road they couldn't beat a high school team.

You can't blame it on playing in hostile environments either. Last night the attendance was announced at 5,539. Hardly an intimidating crowd. Yet the way the Hogs were playing you'd think there were 20,000 fans screaming at them.

I don't know what the answer is, but it's a problem that has plagued the Razorbacks since Nolan Richardson's career ended at Arkansas. Maybe someone should tell the players that road games count too.

Luckily, three of the next four games are inside the friendly confines of Bud Walton Arena.

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