Free-Throw Shooting Needs Work

USC’s recent woeful showing at the free-throw line -- the Trojans have missed 20 of their last 43 attempts -- has Coach Henry Bibby scratching his shaved scalp.

The Trojans will have to improve from the stripe if they hope to end a season-high three-game losing streak and gain momentum for the second half of Pacific 10 Conference play by beating crosstown rival UCLA tonight at Pauley Pavilion.

“I can’t understand why you can’t make free throws,” said Bibby, who shot 82.3% from the line as a guard at UCLA, 78.2% during a nine-year NBA career.

“More than likely it’s a lack of concentration. There’s no one up there with you.... You know exactly where you want to place the basketball. There’s no rush; they give you 10 seconds to shoot it.

“Guys want to score, but they’re not hungry enough to score, because those are free points.”

Before he was slapped with a gag order -- along with twin brother Errick and the Stewart twins, Lodrick and Rodrick -- junior point guard Derrick Craven, who is making only 39.1% of his free throws in Pac-10 games, said the proximity of the fans at California’s Haas Pavilion bothered him at the line and he was falling back as he released his shot.

Junior power forward Jeff McMillan has missed his last five free throws and said Tuesday that the whole team needed extra work at the line.

“It’s just mental,” he said. “It will come back with practice.”

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Lodrick Stewart’s strong showing in a last-minute start at No. 2 Stanford on Saturday has Bibby contemplating another start for the freshman.

“He just shoots the basketball, he doesn’t think. That’s what he’s out there to do, and that’s what he wants to do,” Bibby said of Stewart, who had 13 points and two steals against the Cardinal. “I think if he decides on doing some other things, then he’s going to be a pretty good basketball player.”

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USC is leading the Pac-10 in steals at 10.18 a game but is last in scoring defense, giving up 80.9 points.

“It means we’re gambling on defense a lot,” Bibby said. “We’re out of position, which goes to show that we aren’t playing any defense.

“You get burned a lot. When one guy reaches, it breaks down your whole defense and gives other people an opportunity to score ... an easy basket or get your big guys in foul trouble.”