Free throws are exactly as advertised — points free from defense or the game clock. That’s the idea, anyway. 

In an era of basketball in which the mid-range shot is an endangered species, the free throw is the one exception to points-in-the-paint or 3-pointers that have become of greater emphasis. To wit, averages in the college game have improved exponentially in the last 20 years. 

In 2000-01, no team in Division I collectively made 80 percent. Six teams are sinking their foul shots at an 80-plus-percent clip in 2020-21. UNC-Wilmington sits just beyond that magic number, making 77.7 percent through Jan. 31, good for No. 17 in the nation. 

The Seahawks lead a contingent of four CAA programs ranked 55th or better among all Div. I members. The other three — Drexel, Elon, and William & Mary — are shooting 77.4, 75.4, and 75.2 percent. 

Because free throws are so much about rhythm and repetition, commitment to working on them is paramount. 

“It’s like vitamins,” said Drexel coach Zach Spiker. “You do it every day.” 

Every program, every day, in every gym around the nation adheres to the importance of practicing free throws. 

“We don’t do anything different than other programs,” said UNC-Wilmington coach Takayo Siddle, but added some insight into the small differences in how teams approach their regimens. “We spend time in our individual workouts, they have to make 50 free throws at the end of the workout.”

At UNCW, made free throws provide the magic number to end practice. At William & Mary, coach Dane Fischer described how the Tribe turn foul shots into competition. 

The concept Fischer outlined came from his time as an assistant to Dave Paulsen at Bucknell, which Fischer said he believes Paulsen picked up from longtime Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett. Of note, Bennett’s son, Tony, oversees a Virginia team currently shooting 80.4 percent on the season. 

“At the end of practice . . . we do a free-throw ladder. We’ve got a chart, so the guy at the top of the ladder plays the guy who’s second on the ladder. They shoot 20 free throws against each other, shoot two-at-a-time then rotate, and the winner moves up or if the guy at the top wins, he stays there.”

It’s a little bit like King of the Court rules. At least in games this season, Luke Loewe wears the crown at an impressive 84.3 percent. 

Among the entire CAA, however, the undisputed king of the charity stripe has been UNC-Wilmington’s Ty Gadsden. 

Gadsden ranks fourth in all of Div. I at 96.7 percent, and his 44 straight lead the nation. Gadsden needs to make just one more to match the CAA record that VCU’s Willie Taylor set almost 20 years ago. 

Matching the NCAA record of 73, which Villanova’s Gary Buchanan set in the 2000-01 campaign, isn’t unrealistic. 

“I hope some of these coaches that we play against will get a couple of so I can send him to the free throw line,” Siddle joked. “I feel pretty comfortable he’s going to go up there and knock both of them down.” 

While the Seahawks can’t and don’t rely on opposing coaches blowing their fuse at a referee — and though Siddle as a player himself “was a jump-shooter” and thus not often getting to the line himself — drawing attempts is its own strategy. 

UNC-Wilmington’s outstanding shooting is a case of both quality and quantity, with the Seahawks 39.1 free-throw attempt-to-field-goal attempt ratio ranking No. 38 in the nation. 

“We always talk about playing inside-out, and the way our offense is tailored is that we try to create driving angles; try to get into the paint, try to get to the backboard,” Siddle said. “That’s something we always want to be able to do . . . especially in league play with half-court games; giving ourselves another opportunity and another way to score.” 

And why not? Like the name says, they’re free points.

Kyle Kensing is a freelance sports journalist in southern California. Follow him on Twitter @kensing45.