Kentucky Basketball: 2020-21 keys to beating North Carolina in CBS Sports Classic

Get to the line

In the early going, Kentucky’s three-point shooting has been sorry, at 24.7%. The free throw shooting (69%) hasn’t been all that great, either. While both numbers are all but certain to increase, the latter needs more in-game reps. 17 free throw attempts per game are not going to cut it.

Kentucky needs to find ways to get to the free throw line. Last year’s team shot 23 free throws per game, and while this year’s group won’t shoot 80%, an additional 6 attempts per game would be huge.

If Kentucky shoots more free throws, that also means they’re getting more post touches, more offensive rebounds, and more dribble penetration. All those things lead to more buckets. Drawing fouls means much more than just a few extra free throws.

North Carolina is a foul-prone team, but that’s because they’re physical by design. They have a bunch of trees up front who have plenty of fouls to give. Kentucky must eat into UNC’s frontcourt depth and make sure all those fouls are used.