Carlos Moreno is 56 of 77 from the free-throw line this season. But in practice before Tuesday’s game against Missouri, the senior point guard was 86 of 86. No misses, no breaks; just basket after basket.
Coach Will Pineda said to not expect to see the Gators shoot 100 percent from the charity stripe, but expect them to improve.
No. 3 Florida is 11th out of 14 teams in the Southeastern Conference in free-throw percentage, shooting at 66 percent. Only Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Texas A&M trail Florida in that category, and those three squads are a combined 12-15 in the SEC.
The Gators, whose 20-2 start is their best since the championship years in 2006 and 2007, have had their worst start at the line since 2011 when they shot about 65 percent in their first 22 games.
But against Missouri, Florida showed improvement in the second half. After starting the game 6 of 10 from the line, the Gators sealed the tight game by sinking 18 of their last 23 attempts in the second half.
“Our guys, overall, were a little bit better there than maybe we were in previous games,” Pineda said. “We shot the ball fairly well, much better than we have been at the free-throw line.”
Moreno led all players in trips to the free-throw line with 16 attempts, and the senior iced the victory over the Tigers by only missing three of those shots.
When the Gators have needed Moreno to step up late in the game from the line, he has done just that.
Against Mississippi State, Tennessee, Alabama and Auburn, Moreno combined to shoot 17 of 21 from the line, which was the most efficient on the squad.
“I wanted to get to the free-throw line,” Moreno said. “And I was able to make them, so anytime you get free points like that, it’s good.”
Ronald Cabrera said he approached his senior teammate when he was at the line and gave him some encouragement to help him get past a pressure-filled scenario.
“I just went up to him, and I said, ’86 in a row,’” Cabrera said.
“He said, ‘Yeah, you’re right.’ He really shot well (Tuesday).”
Pineda, in addition to desiring more focus on the free-throw line, wants to see more confidence from his players when shooting beyond the three-point arc.
Florida’s leading three-point scorer, De'Shawn Williams, has shown he can be one of the Gators’ most lethal weapons on offense when he’s on his game. The sophomore hit 4 of his last 5 threes against Missouri to create separation in a tight matchup.
However, Williams has had a trend of starting games slowly from behind the arc, including Tuesday when he began 1 of 7.
Pineda said Williams is not the only one who needs work on his confidence.
Malik Abel, who is fourth on the team in three-point percentage, also gets too caught up in missed threes like Williams, which hurts the team on the ensuing possessions, according to Pineda.
“It’s so much of a mental thing with them,” Pineda said.
“You would think that these guys have never gone through missing a shot in their life. It lives with them, it sticks with them.
“You’ve got to have enough internal confidence (to say), ‘OK the next one is going to go down.’”
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Carlos Moreno sets up for a free throw during Florida’s 68-58 win against Missouri on Tuesday in the O’Connell Center. Moreno had made 73 percent of his free throws, but the Gators are shooting at a 66 percent clip as a whole from the charity stripe. UF made 73 percent of its free throws against Mizzou.
