This
article originally appeared on December 16, 2013 on The Arkansas Traveler
website, uatrav.com.
Free
throws have been a weak point for the Razorbacks for several years.
Last
year, Arkansas shot 67.2 percent from the charity stripe, which was 10th in the
Southeastern Conference and 243rd in the NCAA. The year before, the Razorbacks
shot 69.1 percent, which was eighth out of 12 SEC teams and 143rd in the NCAA.
With
new rules cracking down on hand-checking, teams are getting to the bonus and
double-bonus quicker than before, causing them to shoot more free throws every
game.
From
last season to this season, the average free throws shot per game in the SEC is
up 31.5 percent. The Razorbacks alone are shooting 7.4 more free throws per
game.
By
shooting 71.5 percent from the free throw line, this difference is equal to 5.3
points per game. That may seem insignificant, but eight of Arkansas’ games last
season were decided by five points or less, including three losses.
If
Arkansas had won those three games, it could have been the difference between
an NCAA tournament berth and sitting at home during March.
It
is safe to say that free throw shooting will be a key to success for the Razorbacks
this season.
This
is the third of a series of short articles about the Arkansas basketball team.
Each day leading up to SEC play, I will post an entry about something
basketball related that starts with the next letter of the alphabet. Here are the
previous entries, as well as the dates of the next five...
D
– Dec. 17
E
– Dec. 18
F
– Dec. 19
G
– Dec. 20
H
– Dec. 21
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