Kansas basketball: Free throws a regular problem under Bill Self

It’s not easy to point out the flaws in Bill Self’s coaching. The man’s winning percentage, conference championships, national title, and Hall-of-Fame status speak for themselves. And more often than not, his teams are championship contenders year in and year out.

However, over the past decade his teams do seem to have at least one common flaw: free throw shooting.

Since the 2011-12 season, the Jayhawks have finished in the top 100 of Division I in free throw percentage only twice (2012-13 and 2014-15). In fact, their average finish over the previous 10 seasons is No. 162 in the country.

This year, Kansas is currently ranked No. 284. That number shouldn’t be surprising given their performance at the line so far this season.

In the Jayhawks’ loss against Dayton last week, the team finished 9-of-20 (45%) from the free throw line. They lost by just one point, so it’s not hard to tell how big of a difference making free throws could have impacted the result.

Things didn’t improve much against Iona as KU went 12-of-19 (63%).

If KU hopes to reach their lofty preseason goals and win this postseason, they’re going to have to improve from the line.

Among national championship winners the past 10 years, the average finish in free throw percentage is No. 76 in the country. Six of the 10 teams finished No. 65 or higher, while four finished between No. 120 and No. 177.

As you can see, KU is currently well behind the mark when it comes to championship-caliber free throw shooting.

The good news is that if Self continues to insist on getting more 2-pointers than 3-pointers by either feeding David McCormack or driving the lane, then they will have a higher probability of drawing fouls, which will result in more trips to the line and more opportunities to earn points.

KU has plenty of time to get their free throw shooting turned around. If they do, they’ll be an even more dangerous team as the year goes on.

Statistics courtesy of stats.ncaa.org.