"You can analyze the stats any way you want, but if we make our free throws, we win the game," Utah coach Jim Boylen said after falling at New Mexico in overtime. The Utes are shooting 74 percent from the line for the season, but just 66 percent in MWC games.

What's the secret to USU's success? Coach Stew Morrill videotapes and critiques each of his players' free throw-shooting technique at the beginning of the season. The players are instructed as to how they can improve their technique.

Throughout the year, Aggie players have 100 foul shots recorded each week and they are shot at various times during practice. In addition, players are required to make four 1-and-1 situations before leaving practice each day. If a player is struggling, the player and a coach will review the tape made at the start of the year and go over their technique again.

Boylen also sets aside time during practices to work on free throw shooting. However, at this point of the season, instead of making his players run, he has them do pushups as punishment for missed shots because he doesn't want to wear out their legs.

"If you put them in pressure situations and they make (free throws) in practice, what are you supposed to do?" Boylen said. "To me, you keep putting them in pressure situations and it's going to kick in."

It's a delicate balance between stressing free throws too much or too little.

"We try to shoot as many as we can," Boylen said. "If you over-talk about it, now it's in their head. If you under-talk about it, you feel like you're not doing your job."

In his short time at Utah, Boylen has slightly altered the free-throw mechanics of Luke Nevill, Tyler Kepkay and Carlon Brown. For example, Nevill held the ball too low when he shot while Kepkay kept the ball too close to his body.

"The more moving parts there are, the more room there is for something to break down," Boylen said. "I try to shorten my guys' shots and get them on their toes. If I see something mechanically wrong I try to change it, unless a guy's shooting 90 percent."

Despite Cummard's aversion for the "Cougar drill," he sees the benefits of it.

"There's pressure because you don't want to miss one and make your teammate run," said the junior, who is an 88-percent free-throw shooter. "You're running and then you have to make a free throw, like in a game situation. I think it helps your conditioning physically and mentally."

"Instead of just sitting there (in practice) shooting 25 free throws, the players have to focus in and realize the significance of the moment shooting a free throw," Rose said. "We do a lot of different things to try to simulate pressure in practice. But there's only one way to really simulate it — and that's to go out there and do it."