david sanders / arizona daily star 2008

Other articles by Bruce Pascoe:

UA recruiters look down the road Freshmen mean array of options Now that's a switch Like Fogg, Williams will come in unseen Cats gain one more of USC's recruits NY duo sure they can make it here It's not Rocket science: Chase faces challenge Hill goes No. 8 to Knicks Budinger traded to Houston RocketsHill chosen No. 8 overall by Knicks

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Oregon appears to be stuck in a rebuilding year, with too much inexperience masking its considerable talent, at least for now.

And Oregon State, while coming off a surprising overtime win over USC last weekend, is still too thin on talent and too new to first-year coach Craig Robinson's system to make a serious impact in the Pac-10.

If so, that suggests the Arizona Wildcats are lined up for two much-needed victories this weekend. But what might matter most is where, not whom, the Wildcats are playing.

While there's almost always a difference between road and home statistics, the Wildcats have taken things to an extreme this season. They are 0-4 in true road games, score 14 points fewer, allow opponents to shoot 6 percentage points better and average 65 percent more turnovers. They are 6-1 at McKale Center, losing only to UAB by a point in the second game of the season.

If the trend continues, here are five road bumps that should smooth out this weekend:

1 Budinger will be better. Granted, Chase Budinger's current slump began with his 1-for-9 shooting effort against Kansas at McKale Center on Dec. 23, but his numbers have been down for all four road games.

He was a combined 8 for 27, with five turnovers to match his five assists, at Cal and Stanford last weekend. Budinger said he's convinced his numbers will turn around, and UA interim head coach Russ Pennell says so, too, based on what he's seen in recent practices.

Pennell indicated Budinger's problem has been mostly mental.

"At some point, you've got to play this game because you love it, with a freedom, and not worrying about 'Who thinks I should or shouldn't make it,' " Pennell said. "We're coaching him — we've worked on his mechanics — but the last thing I want to do is be an amateur shrink, get in his head and determine that he eats toast for breakfast and that's why his follow-through is not any good."

2 Younger players, reserves will help more. Though part of it is undoubtedly from facing stiffer overall competition on the road, the UA's younger players have been much more effective at McKale Center.

The UA's generally young bench not only scores more but goes deeper, giving its regular players more rest, and turns the ball over less.

On the road, unbuoyed by home-court fans, younger players struggle more.

Freshman starter Kyle Fogg averages nearly twice as many turnovers (1.5) on the road as at home and shoots half as accurately (.313).

His fellow underclassmen generally behave similarly off the bench.

"Some guys get in and get a little nervous," junior forward Jordan Hill said. "They start making freshman mistakes. Me and Nic (Wise), we know how it is. We've just got to help them out."

UA bench

Stat / points / turnovers

Home / 12.7 / 1.6

Away / 4.8 / 2.8

3 Intensity will be stiffer. Again, competition probably has a lot to do with why the UA allows better shooting on the road. But it could also be simple effort, which Pennell complained about this week after the UA's 76-60 loss at Stanford.

But while the UA allowed Stanford to shoot 45 percent from the field Sunday — nearly 6 percentage points higher than the Cats allow opponents to shoot at home — Pennell was mostly burning up over the fact that Stanford scored 20 points off turnovers and 16 from offensive rebounds.

"That meant we were turning the ball over and not boxing out," Pennell said. "We might as well just walk over to the scorers' table at the beginning of the game and say, 'Just mark them down for 36' " extra points.

Team defense

Opp. FG% / Opp. 3pt% / Opp. ppg

Home / .393 / .318 / 62.3

Away / .453 / .432 / 72.8

4 They'll go to the line. Maybe because they lack an aggressive offense, maybe because their young players and interim coach don't get respect, or maybe because of the usual difference in how fouls are called at home versus away — but for whatever reason, the Wildcats shoot almost 50 percent less free throws on the road. That affects their scoring and, when close fouls go against them, their ability to keep key players on the floor.

The Wildcats lost at Texas A&M in large part because Wise fouled out with seven minutes to go, and at Stanford, they were outscored 8-1 late in the second half when Wise, Hill and Jamelle Horne all sat down with foul trouble.

"On the road, you've got to be 10 points better than the opponent," Wise said. "You're not going to get many calls that home teams are going to get. A lot of times it seems, on the road, we get in foul trouble a lot."

Free-throw shooting

/ FT att / FT %

Home / 23.3 / .712

Away / 12.0 / .687

5 They'll take care of the ball. Turnovers have been Pennell's pet peeve all season, no more so when the Wildcats coughed up the ball 20 times at Stanford.

He says it's more about simply paying attention to details and playing with intensity than getting rattled. Once again, turnovers are worse for the UA away from home.

"On the road, you've got to keep your turnovers down to 10, maybe 12," Pennell said. "You can't give up second-chance opportunities. We've got to value the basketball and have (as much) energy as we do at home."

Turnovers

TO / A-TO ratio

Home 10.0 / 1.7

Away 16.5 / 0.7