In at least a couple of cases, those free-throw drills have paid huge dividends for BYU. Despite the Cougars' woes from the free-throw line this season as a team, they sealed a couple of key victories recently thanks to free throws.

Cummard and Sam Burgess faced nearly identical situations in back-to-back wins over Utah and San Diego State earlier this month. Against the Utes, BYU led by one point with three seconds remaining when Cummard knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Cougars a three-point cushion at the Huntsman Center.

Days later at the Marriott Center against San Diego State, Burgess went to the line with BYU nursing another one-point lead with 2.9 seconds left. Though he had gone 0-for-8 from the field that night, Burgess calmly hit both charity tosses. For the night, he was 4-for-5 from the free-throw line.

So what goes through a free-throw shooter's head at times like those, with all the pressure on their shoulders?

"It's a focus issue," said Burgess, who is an 81-percent free-throw shooter that attempts an estimated 200 free throws per week during the season.

"You have to have that focus and confidence that you're going to make them. Sometimes people have a problem hitting free throws and it's a mind game. The pressure gets to them and they tighten up. It all starts with your confidence. You have to relax and know that if you do your thing, they'll go in. For me, it's all about rhythm, dribbling the same number of times every time before each shot. For most shooters, when they're in rhythm, they're at their best."

Said Weber State guard Dezmon Harris: "It's a mind thing. When you go up there, you have to go up there like it's you by yourself. You have to believe every shot you take is going to go in. If you go up there doubting, it ain't gonna go too good."

"You have to stay within your routine and step up to the line with confidence," said Cummard, who had a streak of 21 straight free throws snapped last week against SDSU. "Sometimes, I'll mentally hear the sound of the ball going through the net or visualize it a little bit. Don't think too much, have confidence and let it go. The biggest thing is staying in your routine."

Rose believes the biggest reason for some of his players' struggles at the line is confidence, or the lack thereof.

"Our concentration at the free throw line is good," he said. "We're just having a difficult time with confidence right now. We can shoot a lot better from the free throw line and I think we will."

Until then, Rose's players will continue to be put through the dreaded "Cougar drill."

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Contributing: Mike Sorensen, Jared Eborn, Jay Hinton

E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com