By NOAH TRISTER
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Michigan State will have to buck a pretty conclusive trend to win the national title.
The Spartans enter Saturday night’s Final Four matchup against Duke shooting 63.2 percent on free throws. Only one team in the last four decades has won the NCAA Tournament while being this bad at foul shots.
The best news for Michigan State might be that its semifinal opponent has issues of its own. Jahlil Okafor, Duke’s leading scorer, shoots only 51 percent at the line — so that game may be decided by which struggling free throw shooters produce under pressure.
There will be some good foul shooters at the Final Four. Several of them play for Wisconsin, which ranks 11th in the country at 76.4 percent. Kentucky is shooting a solid 72.5 percent.