He has been practically the face of the Utes' free-throw problems the last three games, having missed the front end of one-and-one opportunities at crucial moments in each of the last three close losses.

But Luka Drca swears he has never been through anything like this, and that all of his shots have felt good leaving his hand.

"It's always the same" he said. "I don't know why, because I actually never miss a free throw before this."

That's not exacly true, considering Drca was only 4-of-7 this season before going 3-for-7 over the last three games. But he did shoot nearly 81 percent from the line last season, and coach Jim Boylen agreed that the missed free throws have not started to mess with his players' heads.

"No," he said emphatically. "I think if you told Luka Drca to go shoot two for a million dollars, he go up there and" ... Boylen licks his finger-tips, mimicking a player eager to handle the ball. "He's that kind of kid. He said, 'I've never missed free throws like this in my life.' And that guy's played a lot of basketball -- overseas, international teams."

Drca is hardly the only player who has had free-throw problems, however, with the Utes shooting just 54.5 percent as a team over the last three games. Center Luke Nevill has made just 8 of 17 foul shots, modestly better than Drca's rate.