John Calipari wanted to attack the rim against Missouri, so Kentucky made a season-high in free throws

When it comes to allowing the opposing team to get to the free throw line, Missouri is one of the worst high-major programs in the country. Following the Tigers’ 90-77 loss to Kentucky on Tuesday night, Mizzou now ranks 276th in all of Division I, per KenPom, in opponent free throw rate at 37.6 percent. 22 percent of their opponent’s scoring comes from the charity stripe, a bottom 60 figure in the country.

John Calipari must’ve known that too. Ahead of Tuesday’s game, the Kentucky head coach told his players to attack the rim at will against Missouri.

“We went into the game and people who were in the gym today, I told them, guys, we want to attack the rim,” Calipari said. “I like threes but I love dunks and layups. So attack that rim and you will get fouled. You will make it.”

That’s exactly what happened. Kentucky shot 27-32 (84.4 percent) from the free-throw line against the Tigers — season-highs in both makes and attempts for the Wildcats. That production mainly came from just four players though. Both veterans, Tre Mitchell and Antonio Reeves, combined to go 14-14 from the stripe while freshmen guards DJ Wagner and Rob Dillingham combined to go 13-17.

Considering the outside shot wasn’t falling against Missouri — Kentucky went just 7-23 (30.4 percent) from distance — getting inside the paint turned out to be the right approach. The Tigers, even with a 7-foot-5 center playing 14 minutes, didn’t have the personnel necessary to keep UK from attacking the rim. The ‘Cats also scored 28 points in the paint.

Free throw shooting has been a major strength for Kentucky through 14 games this season. While they aren’t the most consistent at getting to the stripe, they convert at an efficient level when they do. UK is shooting 74.6 percent from the line as a team, good enough for 67th in all of Divison I hoops. Dillingham (77.8 percent), Reeves (85.4 percent), and Reed Sheppard (87.1 percent) are all among the nation’s best free throw shooters.

Historically under Calipari, Kentucky is tough to beat when they get to the line that regularly. Going back to the 2010-11 season (the earliest data available), Basketball-Reference has tracked 55 instances where UK has made at least 25 free throws while taking at least 30. In those games, Kentucky holds a 49-6 record.

Aside from the win over Missouri, free throw shooting has already played a significant role in a few other Wildcat victories this season. Kentucky was able to ice North Carolina down the stretch from the stripe (19-26; 73.1 percent) to earn that win and did the same over the weekend on the road against Florida (20-28; 71.4 percent). Sheppard went 6-6 from the line in the final 20 seconds against the Gators to seal the deal.

Free throw shooting can often be taken for granted, but a couple of makes (or misses) here and there can decide the outcomes of entire games or even an entire season. Under Calipari, only the 2019-20 Kentucky team, which was robbed of an NCAA Tournament run by the COVID-19 pandemic, has shot a better percentage from the line (79.7 percent, tops in the country) than this current group of ‘Cats.