CHARLOTTE - It isn't as spectacular as a dunk or as scintillating as the 3-point basket, but the lowly free throw is a big part of tournament basketball.

Some teams thrive there. Others die there.

As the NCAA field narrows, accuracy -- or lack of -- at the foul line has already determined whether teams forge on or fade from sight. West Virginia missed a free throw with 14.2 seconds in regulation against Xavier on Thursday night, then missed 4 of 6 in overtime in a 79-75 loss.

Of the 16 teams to reach the tournament's third round, top-seeded North Carolina has shot the most free throws this season (920) and made the most per game (19 points from the line) while converting 75.4 percent of its attempts.

All-America Tyler Hansbrough relishes life at the line. On average, eight out of his nearly 23 points per game have come on free throws.

"One bounce and shoot it,'' Hansbrough said, making it sound easy. "It's been my routine since I can remember. I try to block all that stuff out [the crowd, time and score]. Shooting free throws, it's getting in the gym. The more you shoot, the better you become."

Louisville, UNC's opponent tonight, scores about 13 points per game from the line.

Xavier, competing in the West Regional, holds a slight percentage edge (75.5) over UNC among the final 16 and scores 17 free points per outing.

Conversely, Memphis clanks a lot, but still wins a lot of games.

The Tigers rank 326th out of 328 teams nationally in free-throw percentage (59.7). But with their dribble-drive motion offense, they draw a high number of fouls (846 -- second among the teams left in the tournament) and collect 14 points per game at the stripe.

Skeptics have questioned if faulty foul shooting might short-circuit the Tigers' March run. That talk had rankled Memphis coach John Calipari, who tried to defuse the criticism by pointing to other impressive stats -- such as the 11 blocked shots and only five turnovers his team registered against Mississippi State on Sunday.

"We made one more free throw than they did, so we beat them at the line," Calipari said in a teleconference. "We had 11 blocked shots and you turn on TV and all it's talking about is they missed free throws and it's going to cost them a championship.

"Everybody, all they want to talk about is our free-throw shooting. I don't know why. I come back to the conclusion that maybe they haven't seen our team play nor do they really know and the easy thing to talk about is our free throws. Maybe I'm wrong, though."

Clemson's Tigers were the ACC team with the biggest free-throw woes, and it has showed at the end of the season.

With sharper free-throw shooting, Clemson could have won the school's first ACC Tournament title. In an 86-81 loss to Carolina in the final, the Tigers missed 12 of 26 free throws -- making just 53.8 percent.

Then in their NCAA Tournament first-round game, the Tigers missed 9 of 23 (making 60.8 percent) and lost to Villanova, 75-69.

Attempting to master the unguarded shot can be perplexing and frustrating -- and drive some shooters up an arena wall.

"The main thing is repetition, get extra free-throw shots up and really focus," UNC's Deon Thompson said. "If you don't concentrate, that will be the problem."

In some way, shooting free throws is comparable to putting in golf. A 6-footer is makeable, but even Tiger Woods can roll it short, long or sideways, if not focused. Tournaments have been lost on shorter putts.

Nearly all basketball players have a routine regardless of time and score. But when a player is at the line with the game on the line and thousands are screaming, pressure heightens and throats can tighten.

"Obviously, you have to have a decent shot, but it has a lot to do with confidence," said C.B. McGrath, UNC's director of basketball operations. "You've got to step in and think you are going to make it, have a clear head."

Take it and make it. It's free.