Entering play on Thursday night, the Syracuse University men's basketball team was 360th out of 361 Division I teams in free-throw shooting percentage. 

And though they beat St. Joseph's 71-63 on Thursday at the JMA Wireless Dome, they did nothing to quell the worries about their struggles at the charity stripe.

They went 15-of-28 (54 percent), and though it didn't cost them against the Hawks, it did cost them dearly in an early-season loss to No. 3 Houston. They went 12-of-29 in that game, losing in overtime.

Simply put: As the games get bigger, and the stakes get higher, and the games get closer, the Orange can't afford to be one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the nation. They can't afford to give points away in close games, because it could cost them again.

Possible strategy for opponents

Through nine games, the book is out on the Orange and their free-throw woes. In fact, head coach Adrian Autry was even asked after Thursday's win if he thinks opposing teams will start fouling Syracuse intentionally in games for the sole purpose of putting them on the line.

If that becomes a real strategy for opponents, especially down the stretch in close games, the line could unravel Syracuse like it did against Houston. And with the Orange needing every win possible to build an NCAA Tournament resume, they can't drop games because of this issue.

Autry's answer

In answering that question, Autry did his best to project a tone of optimism, while also deflecting away from the issue.

Sure. ​I ​mean, ​that ​was ​where ​we ​had ​that ​offense-defense ​at ​the ​end ​of ​the ​​game ​today, ​and ​even ​though, ​you ​know, ​I ​mean, ​Will (Kyle) ​stepped ​up ​and ​made ​6-for-9 ​today. ​So ​that ​was ​good ​to ​see. ​But, I mean, we'll ​get ​better. ​These ​guys ​shoot ​the ​ball ​a ​lot ​better ​than ​we're ​doing ​right ​now. ​Even ​from ​the ​three-point ​range, ​we'll ​get ​better ​with ​that. ​And I really put ​a ​lot ​of ​focus ​on what ​we're ​doing ​on a ​defensive ​end, ​and ​then, ​on ​offensively ​just ​making ​the ​right ​shots ​and ​making ​the ​right ​passes. ​I ​thought ​we ​missed ​a ​couple ​people today ​that ​we ​could ​get ​some ​open ​looks ​for. ​You ​know, ​we ​can't ​miss ​certain ​guys. ​We ​got ​to ​do ​a ​better ​job ​of ​that.

*Autry is referencing substitution patterns late in Thursday's game. He was rotating players in-and-out that he thought would help on one side of the floor more than the other.

He's in a no-win spot

Autry can project that optimism publicly, but privately? He has to be concerned about what he's seeing. I understand that he doesn't want to bury his team in the media, that makes perfect sense, but it's also not likely that the team gets demonstrably better at the line over the course of the season. As game time increases and practice time decreases, there is less time to work on this stuff. You kind of just are what you are, and that's a scary proposition.

The one positive? Donnie Freeman is an 80 percent free-throw shooter this season. He's missed four straight games with injury, but when he returns, he can help alleviate the issue - to a degree.

Up next

The Orange will be at home again on Saturday afternoon (4 p.m. ET) when they host Hofstra at the JMA Wireless Dome. We'll have live on-site coverage from Brady Farkas, who you can follow on social media @RefuseToLosePod.

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