Tigers face tough road task at Texas

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- As Missouri prepares for a road game at No. 16 Texas tonight, the Tigers are trying to figure out how they can be so dominant at home and so mediocre away from Mizzou Arena.

Missouri is 14-0 this season at home, the longest winning streak to start the season since the arena opened in 2004. And those victories have been by an average margin of 28 points.

But the Tigers are just 4-4 away from Columbia, including Big 12 Conference losses to Nebraska and Kansas State. Overall, Missouri is 5-2 in the Big 12 heading into the game at Texas (15-5, 4-2).

Forward Leo Lyons can't figure out why things work so much better at home.

"There's no difference in approach for us, and maybe we just put too much pressure on ourselves when we go on the road," said Lyons, who scored a career-best 30 points in Missouri's 89-72 home win over Baylor on Saturday. "I think we just have to treat every game as the same."

Missouri coach Mike Anderson sees room for improvement on both sides of the court when it comes to road games.

"You have to shoot the ball well first and foremost," Anderson said. "We're a defensive-minded team, so we have to keep that mind-set on the road, and once we keep that we have to knock down shots as a team."

Missouri is shooting 48.3 percent from the field this season, but just 39.1 percent in losses at Nebraska and Kansas State, and in neutral-court losses to Xavier and Illinois.

One thing Anderson has told his players is that they have to survive early flurries and keep their composure when they fall behind on the road. In both Big 12 losses, the Tigers fell way behind early and never caught up.

Road play hasn't been a complete lost cause. Missouri took Georgia's best shots before pulling away. The Tigers jumped to a big lead at Oklahoma State, then hung on for the win.

"I think they have to withstand the emotional starts because a team is going to punch you, so you have to be able to punch them back," Anderson said. "We've got to dictate tempo and play defense and get good minutes from guys off the bench.

"The more pieces you get to work for you, the better off you are."

Texas is still smarting from an 85-81 overtime loss at home to Kansas State. The Tigers haven't beaten Texas since Feb. 22, 1999, a streak that includes nine regular-season games and a loss in the 2002 Big 12 tournament.

"It's a tough place to play and they're coming off of a loss," Missouri's Matt Lawrence said. "They're looking for blood."

A Missouri win would help solidify the Tigers' chances of returning to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2003.

"If we want to be one of the best teams in the nation, we have to go through teams like this," Lyons said.