Travis Ford tears and missed free throws… The Ballad of the St. Louis Billikens

There were just four games between the Billikens and the Atlantic 10 Tourney.

Four games to prove you belong in that tournament.

Four games to prove you are worthy of the pre-season selection as the best in the conference.

Four games.

This is when you forget about everything in the rear view mirror. You stare straight ahead to the task at hand, Virginia Commonwealth University. VCU is looking like the team everyone thought St. Louis was going to be. VCU sits at 21-6, 12-2, atop the A-10 mountain looking down upon everyone else. Safely inside that double bye.

I wanted to dig deep to find out what happened. Why had SLU fallen this far? What are the numerical differences between these two clubs?

Photo Credit: Mick Lite

VCU shoots 44.1% from the floor. SLU shoots 41.6%. Not a huge gap.

VCU shoots 30.9% from three. SLU shoots 30.4%. Barely anything.

VCU averages 14.2 turnovers per game. SLU averages 13.2.

VCU averages 71.6 points per game. SLU averages 66.7. Why the 5 point gap?

The answer is simple. Free throws.

VCU shoots 70.0% from the free throw line as a team. SLU shoots 59.9.

VCU has missed a total of 169 free throws this season. SLU has missed 254, dozens as the front end of one-and-ones.

SLU misses on average 9.4 free throws per contest (not counting the 2nd of the one-and-ones.)

VCU misses 6.25.

As the great American songwriter Matthew Ryan sings, “the little things…they mean everything.”

I’ve heard Coach Ford minimize the issue time and time again this season. Trying to portray publicly that it doesn’t bother him. But I know, it is eating him up inside. Every night, every brick, pulls at his pure shooting basketball soul.

Photo Credit: Mick Lite

In his senior year at Kentucky, Travis Ford went 103/113 from the stripe…for the season. SLU misses nearly that many free throws every night. He shot 88.5% for his career, missing a total of 39 free throws over four years. Yet he shrugs, gives it the “aww shucks what can ya do” smile and heads back to watching film knowing he has to find another solution… when this team winning the A-10 is as simple and sinking free throws.

“God it’s so painful, when something so close can feel so far out of reach.”- Tom Petty

I feel the man’s pain. I know the mental torture he fights every time another uncontested, free, fifteen footer clangs around the rim like a wrench down an elevator shaft. Everytime the tiniest part of him sheds a single tear that could fill the Mississippi.

So what did Tuesday night hold? Exactly what you read above. VCU won 71-65. The Billikens missed 10 free throws, went 15-25, 60%. VCU went 18/26, 72%. That’s your ball game…a 6 point loss after 10 missed free throws….the exact same number Travis Ford missed his entire senior year.

So, what do we do from here? This team hasn’t become a good free throw shooting team by now. They sure as hades aren’t going to become one this season. We can hope for unworldly performances by Bess. We can hope J-Good goes all alpha dog again. We can hope Tramaine does that thing where he explodes for 20.

But, we cannot hope they make the throws. That would be like me hoping I wake up tomorrow with John Stamos’ hair…it’s ain’t happening.

So until the throws start to fall…long live Tom Petty and Matthew Ryan

Follow Sauls on Twitter @Will_ArchCity