Kansas defied the odds last season.

Bill Self’s Jayhawks nearly finished undefeated on the road in the Big 12 conference. Kansas finished 7-1 on the road – matching its 7-1 conference record at home — and won the Big 12 regular season championship outright.

Texas gave Kansas a reality check on Monday, beating Kansas 72-69. In case the Jayhawks didn’t remember, winning on the road is an arduous task.

“It’s one of those things,” Bill Self said about the difficulty of playing on the road. “If you go in there, and don’t play well, you will get beat.”

It’s happened to Kansas twice. Before Texas, Kansas was tripped up by Kansas State at Bramlage Coliseum – an opposing venue that’s normally been a Jayhawk heaven.

But Kansas can take some solace in the fact that this season, every Big 12 team is taking its beatings on the road. Whether it’s the hostile crowd, the unfamiliar surroundings or those uncomfortable hotel mattresses, Big 12 teams have a combined conference road record of 16-36. This isn’t a new trend either. Last season, teams finished a combined 33-66 on the road.

Texas A&M can empathize with Kansas. In Mark Turgeon’s first season, the Aggies started 15-1 during the nonconference season. Texas A&M’s only loss was ­— you guessed it — on the road against Arizona. Then the Big 12 season started, and Turgeon’s team was run out of the gym in two consecutive Big 12 road games. Texas A&M lost 68-53 at Texas Tech, and 75-54 to K-State at the all-of-a-sudden hostile Bramlage Coliseum.

“It’s a fine line between winning and losing,” Turgeon said of his team’s road struggles. “It’s all the little things that add up — executing at the right time.”

Texas A&M reversed its negative road trend by winning its next three away from home against Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Missouri.

“We’ve had some games on the road that we could win and we took advantage of it,” Turgeon said.

The Aggies road resurgence has buoyed their Big 12 title aspirations. After starting 1-3, Texas A&M is back to 6-3 in the conference and back in the title hunt.

But the tale of Texas A&M seems to be the norm in the Big 12. Win on the road, and you should find yourself in the top half of the Big 12. K-State — atop the Big 12 with a 7-1 record — also sports the conference’s best road record at 2-1. On the other hand, the Big 12’s bottom five teams — Texas Tech, Iowa State, Missouri, Oklahoma State and Colorado — are 1-21 on the road in the Big 12 combined.

Baylor head coach Scott Drew knows the importance of winning on the road. Last season, his Baylor team finished 0-8 on the road on its way to an 11th place finish in the Big 12. This season, the Bears are 1-3 away from home, and have parlayed that moderate success into a 5-3 Big 12 record. With road wins at a premium, Drew has a new mantra.

“You have to win your home games if you want to be in the upper echelon of the Big 12,” Drew said.

Winning at Allen Fieldhouse this conference season is one thing Kansas has been able to do. The Jayhawks are 5-0 at home in the conference, but its road woes are still a concern. Bill Self has one explanation for the road dip.

“I think this is a much, much more difficult road schedule than what we had last year,” Self said. This year’s slate included trips to Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. Three teams Kansas played host to last season.

Kansas is once again looking up in the standings at K-State. Even if the Jayhawks stay perfect on their home court, they will most certainly need to pick up their play away from home if they want to win their fourth consecutive Big 12 regular season championship.

It’s something Self knows, and Kansas’ fifth year head coach said there is no secret to road success.

“Teams have to be tough,” Self said. “They have to focus.”

— Edited by Daniel Reyes