I admit to being shocked -- not surprised, not taken aback, but shocked -- by Marquette's 15-point pasting of UConn in both teams' Big East opener last week. After playing its customary weak non-conference slate, losing to Winthrop at home, and getting outplayed by in-state rival UW in Madison, the chances of Marquette beating the undefeated and second-ranked Huskies seemed minute. In fact, only one thing could have shocked me more -- if Tom Crean's team had won that game on the road.

Yes, conference play has arrived in NCAA basketball, and that means fans will occasionally witness crazy things ... like MU beating UConn by 15 at the Bradley Center. But what separates good conference teams from bad is not the occasional upset victory -- it is winning consistently, or at least periodically, on the road. And Marquette's chances for an NCAA tourney invite will be determined largely on the basis of its eight Big East road games.

Crean's Golden Eagles will get an immediate and stern test of their road bona fides this week. On Wednesday evening, Marquette visits Seton Hall (9-4, 1-1) before traveling to West Virginia (10-3, 2-0) Saturday afternoon. Next Tuesday, the team's first true road trip culminates at the Rosemont Horizon against longtime rival DePaul (8-5, 1-1). Strange as it sounds, winning one out of three wouldn't be bad, and two victories would be a major accomplishment for this young squad.

The Pirates aren't going to challenge for Big East supremacy, but they will show MU what a run-of-the-mill conference road game now involves. The Hall beat lowly St. John's at home and lost to Rutgers in conference play. WVU has most of its key contributors back from reaching the Elite Eight last year and is fresh off a win over undefeated Villanova on the road. The Mountaineers represent what Marquette eventually wants to be, and a win in Morgantown would actually be more impressive than the upset of UConn. And even though DePaul has struggled under new coach Jerry Wainwright, the Blue Demons managed to beat Notre Dame at home Saturday.

Like Marquette, Wisconsin will soon learn more about its young roster as it takes to the road in the Big 10. The Badgers opened with two impressive home victories over Iowa and Michigan State last week, but Bo Ryan's teams are expected to dominate at the Kohl Center. UW plays just its third overall road game Tuesday at Minnesota (it lost the first two to Wake Forest and Pitt) before returning home to battle Northwestern Saturday. Next Wednesday, the Badgers visit Ohio State, which has just one loss.

While the Badgers are about to get a taste of the road, they've also got a relatively easy conference schedule. For the month following the OSU game, UW has just three road games -- at Michigan (Jan. 28), at Purdue (Feb. 4) and at Penn State (Feb. 11). Michigan is improved, but none of that trio will challenge for the conference title. The Badgers also avoid Champaign this season; their only contest versus Illinois is Jan. 31 at the Kohl Center. However, the Badgers finish the season with road games at Michigan State and Iowa, two games that should affect the Big 10 championship race.

There isn't likely to be much of a conference race in the Horizon League, at least not as long as UW-Milwaukee continues to develop at its current pace under Rob Jeter. The Panthers have sprinted out to a 4-0 start (11-3 overall). And in case you hadn't noticed, UWM's RPI ranking at the start of last week (according to CollegeRPI.com) was 9!

OK, that might be a little high -- but it's gotten there precisely because UWM has played tough road games. The Panthers lost at Memphis and Wisconsin while winning at Wyoming and Montana. The latter teams may not sound impressive, but at 12-2, Montana is expected to win the Big Sky conference -- and a road win is a road win is a road win, especially for a mid-major team like UWM.

Coaches like Jeter and predecessor Bruce Pearl have little choice but to schedule road games if they want to match up against quality opponents in non-conference play. Few power conference schools are anxious to travel to a mid-major team's arena (and sacrifice non-conference gate receipts in the process), especially if that game could result in a loss. And with UWM's recent resurgence, a loss is a distinct possibility.

So the Panthers have become reluctant road warriors. That will help this week when they visit archrival UW-Green Bay on Saturday (ESPN2 at 3 p.m.) and then Detroit next Wednesday. Detroit is 3-1 in conference play, just a game behind UWM, and the memory of their narrow loss in last year's Horizon League title game will still be fresh in the Titans' minds.

It's early in the season, but there is a lot of excitement among fans on all three campuses. If that excitement can survive the first week of conference road play, there's a good chance it will extend all the way into March.