It was dark times around Villanova over the past three years but there was always one consistent positive — the free throw line.
The Wildcats finished fourth in the nation at the foul line last season.
The three years before that, Villanova was No. 1 in the country at the end of the year. This includes setting a new NCAA single-season record at 83% as a team in 2021-22.
This season, the team has flipped the script. Villanova currently has 19 wins, 10 coming in the Big East, despite ranking 261st in the nation at 69.7%. The Wildcats are piling up wins, but can they continue to do so in March if free throw shooting does not improve?
The concerns have heightened over the last two games against teams near the bottom of the Big East. Villanova went 14-for-28 against Georgetown on Saturday and needed heroics from Acaden Lewis to escape with a victory.
On Tuesday, Villanova struggled once again, shooting 18-for-31 from the line against the Golden Eagles.
“We’ll get there,” head coach Kevin Willard said following Tuesday’s win vs. Marquette. “If we can improve our free throw shooting and make a couple layups in the first half, it’s a completely different game.”
The Wildcats have missed 27 free throws over the last two games. Villanova has not been consistent from the opening weeks of the year, but the team seems to be getting worse as the season progresses.
At this point, it seems like it has gotten in the heads of the team and Willard expressed this as well.
“We’re gonna work on it and we have worked on it,” Willard said. “Everyone’s in there everyday. It’s not like we haven’t worked on it. I think it’s a little mental right now. I think we miss one and there’s a little too much negative emotion on the free throw line right now.”
Let’s not forget, Villanova went 17-for-22 from the line in the overtime loss to UConn and in the victory against Seton Hall in recent weeks. The ability is there for a guard-heavy team that lives behind the three-point line.
Villanova has seven games left in the regular season before the Big East Tournament begins. The Wildcats are in position to return to the NCAA Tournament this season. If the team has a chance to make a run in either tournament, free throw shooting must improve drastically.
“This team has been absolute great to coach,” Willard said. “If we just made our free throws, I’d love them to death, but right now they’re just fun to coach.”
