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The Duke Blue Devils have racked up some serious frequent flyer miles already this season, with two trips to New York as well as visits to Wisconsin and most recently Chicago and Atlanta on their itinerary.
Even so, the Blue Devils have yet to earn their wings.
Duke's six games away from home have included just two true road games, and those two have resulted in the Blue Devils' lone losses, including Saturday's 71-67 setback at Georgia Tech.
"There's definitely some things we need to do to improve on in our road games," junior Nolan Smith said. "For us, we've got to look at it as just another game -- whether it's road or away -- but we just haven't been the same team for whatever reason away from home."
The reality is that virtually every college basketball team sports a better record at home than on the road, and with the significant homecourt edge provided by Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke certainly is no exception. The Blue Devils last had a better record away from home than they had at home in the 1983-84 season.
Since winning the school's most recent NCAA title in 2001, Duke has dropped just nine home games versus 30 road games, even while playing six more home games per season on average.
In the ACC, Duke has won two out of every three road games over that period. That's impressive to be sure, but not as impressive as Duke's four-out-of-five success rate at home.
Some losses on the road are inevitable, and losses at Wisconsin and Georgia Tech are understandable. Still, championship-caliber teams are capable of winning anywhere.
"You don't want to make it a trend," senior Jon Scheyer said. "We really wanted to come out on the road and win a game because the only road game we've had so far, we lost.
"It's disappointing."
Duke's losses at Wisconsin and at Georgia Tech had one major characteristic in common: In both games, the homestanding opponent maintained its intensity throughout to match Duke's trademark intensity -- a much more realistic accomplishment at home than at Cameron.
"They played 40 minutes. There was never a let-up by them," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said about Georgia Tech. "I thought they played better than we did. We played hard, but we didn't play as well as we would like. Georgia Tech had the most to do with that.
"We came ready to play, and they beat us."
Outside of small stretches, Duke also has struggled with its long-range shooting on the road. The Blue Devils made just 6 of 28 from 3-point range at Georgia Tech, and at Wisconsin they were just 3 of 13 before freshman Andre Dawkins drilled three in a row in the final minutes.
"We had a lot of open shots, open 3s," Krzyzewski said after the Georgia Tech loss. "Usually we've hit more of those than we miss.
"We'll keep shooting. You want us to stop shooting?"
Without a doubt, Krzyzewski will make sure his Blue Devils keep firing away -- literally and figuratively. They'll return home to play Boston College on Wednesday (7 p.m., ESPN) and Wake Forest on Sunday before making their next road trip on Jan. 20 against N.C. State.
The ride to Raleigh won't earn the Blue Devils any frequent flyer miles, but they hope it can help them earn their wings.
"The next time we play on the road," Scheyer said, "we need to come out and send a message that we can play on the road."
