Successful road teams usually share similar traits.

They're experienced, tough-minded and play with a swagger.

They remain cool and composed in the face of a hostile crowd and can grind out wins by making big plays during crucial late-game stretches.

The UConn Huskies fall short in all those key categories.

That's why they've yet to win a true road game this season and are 1-13 in those situations in coach Dan Hurley's two seasons. East Carolina is the only other American Athletic Conference team without a road win this season.

"Confident, mature, winning teams play well on the road," Hurley said recently. "Obviously, that's going to be a challenge for us the rest of the year. And we've got to find a way. It's my responsibility as a leader to get that type of play and grittiness and toughness on the road."

It will be difficult for UConn (11-10, 2-6) to go from road kill to road warriors on Thursday when it visits AAC leader Tulsa (15-6, 7-1) in Oklahoma. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Reynolds Center, a place that the Huskies have never won.

They've lost some heartbreakers at Tulsa, with all five defeats by single digits, including one by two points in double overtime, one by two points in overtime and by six last season.

Overall, UConn has dropped five straight in the series, including a 79-75 overtime decision on Jan. 26 in Hartford. UConn staged one of the biggest second half comebacks in recent memory, rallying from a nine-point deficit to force overtime.

But the Huskies never led in OT and couldn't contain active senior forward Martins Igbanu who had a career-high 28 points and 10 rebounds. Junior forward Jeriah Horne also finished with a double-double, chipping in 10 points and 11 rebounds.

What stood out in that game for UConn was Hurley relied on his young players — freshmen James Bouknight and Jalen Gaffney, redshirt freshman Akok Akok, sophomore Brendan Adams and redshirt sophomore Sidney Wilson — to help forge a comeback. They fueled a momentum-turning 12-0 spurt.

But the result ended up being the same as the Huskies suffered another painful defeat. Veteran backcourt partners Christian Vital and Alterique Gilbert shot a combined 5 for 22 from the field.

They added to their misery on Saturday, buckling late in a 70-63 loss at Memphis. Their last five defeats have all been by seven points or fewer.

Since the first meeting, Tulsa has played just once, beating No. 23 Wichita State 54-51 on Saturday on a last-second game winner by junior Elijah Joiner.

Winners of six straight, Tulsa is playing its best basketball. The Golden Hurricane tightened up defensively, ranking first in the AAC in scoring defense, allowing 56.1 points per game, and first in field goal percentage defense at 35.9. They're also 11-1 at home this season.

There's reason for UConn to be slightly optimistic about its chances on Thursday. The Huskies are the only team to score more than 61 points vs. Tulsa in the last six games. Of course, it took overtime to do it.

The Huskies have had a significant dropoff offensively on the road as compared to playing at home. While they've remained solid on defense, only allowing 2.1 more points on the road, they're averaging far fewer points (57.6 to 75.9) and making more turnovers (17.0 to 12.8) per game.

They'll likely be without Wilson, an athletic reserve forward, for the third straight game due to a knee injury. He sat out practice Wednesday but made the trip to Tulsa.

g.keefe@theday.com