Vermont: Life on the Line

Heading into a first-place showdown with Stony Brook, Vermont has done one thing better than everyone else in the conference: shoot free throws. During conference play, Vermont is shooting a high volume of free throws -- over 25 a game -- and making 78% of them. That is a percentage 5% higher than the next closest team in the conference, Albany. On the season, they rank 53rd nationally in free throw percentage. Two things are particularly interesting about the teams sudden groove at the charity stripe: their overall percentage is up 7% from a year ago, and the fact that it all started in conference play. The free throw line is a big reason Vermont is 10-2 in the conference and has a chance to join Stony Brook at 11-2 this Sunday.

More free throws after the break

Last season, Vermont shot 67.6% from the stripe. During out-of-conference play this season, they were on track to end up somewhere in that neighborhood, cruising along at 66.8%. That's not too bad -- right now, the national average is 68.9%. Over those 14 non-conference games, Vermont shot 235 free throws and made 157 of them. In just 12 conference games, Vermont has shot 303 and made 237 (the aforementioned 78%).

Who deserves the credit?

Four McGlynn (87%) and Luke Apfeld (79%) are the easy answers. The two underclassmen are a combined 157-190 from the stripe. They account for 35% of Vermont's attempted free throws and 40% of Vermont's made free throws. Matt Glass, Sandro Carissimo, Brendan Bald and Clancy Rugg are all shooting 76% or better, but only Glass has shot more than 52 free throws out of that group.

The more complex answer is that John Becker and his staff deserve a lot of credit for turning free throw shooting into a strength. Players have increased their free throw percentages, sometimes dramatically, under the tutelage of Becker and his staff. Brendan Bald, for example: you might expect Bald, whose field goal percentage has gone down 7% this season, to lose confidence and shoot a poor percentage from the line. Instead, he's improved by 12%. Matt Glass has improved by 6.5%. Apfeld by 8%. What is more, is that the team has steadily improved all season long.

Hopefully, I didn't give the Catamounts the old blogger-jinx, and they can ride some freebies to a first place tie with Stony Brook.