Spartans Have Been Stellar in One Key Area

The Michigan State Spartans have been one of the top teams in the country at the free-throw line and have earned multiple wins this season with their success at the line. Saturday's win over the Oregon Ducks was another example of their greatest strength.

Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans On SI

The No. 9 Michigan State Spartans (19-4, 10-2) have become one of the nation's top free-throw shooting teams this season, and it has helped them to win several ballgames this season, leading to contention for the Big Ten regular season title.

In Saturday's 86-74 win over the Oregon Ducks (16-8, 5-8) at the Breslin Center, the Spartans put together an incredible second-half comeback as they trailed by 14 points at halftime. A major reason for that comeback was how stellar they shot at the free-throw line, making 24 of 27 attempts.

Seven of the nine guys that played in the contest made at least one free throw line and each guy was 50% or better from the line. Freshman guard Jase Richardson was 8-9, junior center Carson Cooper went 7-8 off the bench and the rest of the group combined for a strong 7-8 from the charity stripe.

The improvement that this team has made in just one year is why they are tied for second in the conference instead of finishing sixth with a 10-10 Big Ten record a season ago. They have jumped from a 70.6% free throw shooting team to 80.9% which ranks third in the entire country.

Coach Tom Izzo keyed in on Cooper as a prime example of someone who has taken a giant leap at the line this season. He had his best free-throw shooting day against Oregon, making a season-high seven with just one miss.

"Coop [Cooper] made some incredible free throws, 7-of-8 of from the line," Izzo said postgame. "That was a guy that was shooting 50% a year ago. There's a lot of guys that have gotten better."

Two Spartans that have been sensational from the line this year have been redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. and transfer senior Frankie Fidler. Fears has hit a team-high 68 free throws on 90 attempts (75.6%), while Fidler has made 65 of his 73 attempts for an astonishing 89%.

The game against the Ducks was won at the free-throw line. Michigan State has done a phenomenal job at forcing opponents to foul and put them at the line. It ranks 23rd in the country, shooting 23.2 free throws per game, which happens to be the best by any team in the Big Ten.

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