The free throw disparity that has UConn, Dan Hurley fuming, explained

The UConn Huskies are sitting at home after losing the NCAA Tournament title game to the Michigan Wolverines. No doubt, from players to coaches, they’re all ruminating over everything that went wrong in that 69-63 loss. Fans certainly are, and more than a few have noted a key metric in the box score: Free throws.

There was a double-digit margin between the free throws each team was awarded throughout the game. Foul calls went against UConn more often, resulting in multiple key players getting into foul trouble. Whether they meant to or not, the refs’ whistles played a significant role in the outcome on Monday night. But who was at fault for that outcome?

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How many more free throws did Michigan take over UConn?

Stats

Michigan

UConn

Free throws made

25

12

Free throws attempted

28

16

Free throw percentage

89.3%

75.0%

Personal fouls committed

13

22

Players with 4+ fouls

0

3

The stat sheet doesn’t lie. Michigan shot 28 free throws, making 25 of them. UConn shot 16 and made 12. That’s a disparity of 12 free throws attempted. Michigan was +13 in points from the charity stripe.

The disparity wasn’t just because UConn had to foul late to stop the clock. In the first half, the Wolverines were 11-of-12 from the line. The Huskies were 4-of-6.

So Michigan had a game-long advantage in terms of free throws and it affected UConn’s ability to keep up. Of course, the raw numbers can never tell the whole story.

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How did the free throw disparity impact UConn?

UConn and Michigan went into halftime at 33-29. The Huskies trailed by four after watching the Wolverines score 33 percent of their points at the free throw line. That, however, wasn’t the biggest issue for Dan Hurley’s team. Fouls impacted UConn both in terms of defensive aggression and momentum.

With 3:16 remaining in the first half, Alex Karaban was tagged for a flagrant foul for a “hook and hold.” Michigan had missed all but one of their last nine shots and their previous six points all came from the line. They added two more after…

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Publish date : 2026-04-07 22:15:00

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