Nothing free
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville is shooting 66.5 percent on free throws (262 of 394) to rank 13th in the SEC and 303rd nationally out of 351 NCAA Division I teams.
The Razorbacks have shot even worse in SEC play. Their 59.6 percent (65 of 109) in five SEC games ranks 14th.
“We just have to keep working on them,” Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. “You don’t want to harp on them, but you have to put time in on them, and we do.
“We spend a lot of time on free throws, but they have to do some things on their own as well.”
Senior guards Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon, who joined the team as junior-college transfers last season, have improved in many areas, but not freethrow shooting.
Barford, who shot 75.2 percent on free throws last season, is at 67.6 percent (48 of 71) this season. Macon, who shot 86.6 percent last season and hit 14 of 14 free throws against Texas, is at 83.1 percent (59 of 71) this season.
Daniel Gafford, a 6-11 freshman, is at 54.0 percent (47 of 87). In SEC play, he’s 11 of 26. Senior forward Trey Thompson also is down from 65.5 percent last season (19 of 29) to 50.0 percent this season (9 of 18). Senior guard Anton Beard is up to 80.4 percent this season (37 of 46) from 74.7 percent last season.
Senior forward Dustin Thomas has improved slightly to 66.7 percent (20 of 30) this season from 65.7 percent (46 of 70). Sophomore forward Adrio Bailey is at 55.0 percent
(11 of 20), but that’s a vast improvement over last season’s 31.5 percent (6 of 19).
Sophomore guard C.J. Jones has hit 80 percent (12 of 15) on the season, despite being 1 of 4 on his most recent attempts. Freshman forward Darious Hall is at 59.3 percent (16 of 27).
“We put in different situations and different scenarios [in practice] so they can work on it,” Anderson said. “But they have to go out there and just have the calmness to go and make them.”