If you've played basketball then you know the free throw is one of the easiest and also hardest shots to make. In practice when nobody is around the ball seems to float effortlessly through the net. During a game with thousands of screaming fans it's a lot harder to hit from the charity stripe. Still, the bottom line is this, if you make free throw you usually win, if you miss them you don't.

The LSU Fighting Tiger basketball team got a lesson is the paradigm of free throw shooting last night as they faced the 20th ranked Gamecocks of South Carolina. LSU only shot 57% from the free throw line. The Tigers had 28 tries but only converted on 16 of them.  The final score in last night's game was South Carolina 94, LSU 83. So you can see those missed free throws really made a difference.

The loss knocks LSU out of sole possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers are now in a three-way tie with South Carolina and Kentucky. Up next for Tiger basketball is showdown in Baton Rouge with Texas A&M on Saturday.  The Aggies are having their own issues as they have dropped four of their last five games including a loss on Wednesday to Alabama.

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