Grant McCasland wasn't all that pleased with his team's five total free-throw attempts in the first half of Monday's non-conference finale against North Alabama.

The Texas Tech basketball team responded almost immediately. To start the second half, the Red Raiders went on a 7-0 run — all from the stripe — and hit their first 10 attempts at the line in the final stanza.

By the end of their 85-57 win over the Lions, the Red Raiders converted 17 of their 19 shots at the line, much more to McCasland's liking.

"I thought that was a big deal for us to separate was how do you get to the free throw line in Big 12 play," McCasland said, "and how do you not just rely on shooting 3s. ... We just were playing more physical around the rim, which shows some improvement for where we were."

It's not just that McCasland wants his team to be more physical than the opposition — which he does, embodied by the "Toughest Team Wins" motto for the season. It's also that the Red Raiders are really good at free throws.

Entering the 2024 calendar year, Texas Tech was 19th in the nation in free throw percentage, converting 77.2% of their shots at the line. Prior to the win over Sam Houston, Tech was 14th in the country, though a 17-for-24 effort against the Bearkats dropped that ranking a tad.

More: Texas Tech basketball closes non-conference play with sixth win in a row

Since the team's 10-for-15 showing at the line against Butler, some of the misses looming large in the overtime loss, the Red Raiders have knocked down 82% of their foul shots (96-of-117) during the team's current six-game winning streak.

While Texas Tech has found success at the line through physical play, it has also avoided putting the opponent at the line. The Red Raiders commit the 10th-fewest fouls per game this season (13.6 entering Monday). They stayed on that path in the non-conference finale, committing 13 infractions that resulted in just 11 free throws for the Lions.

As simple as it sounds — knocked down your free throws, don't give up too many to the opponent — it's something that's carried the Red Raiders through the early part of the season. Even when shots aren't falling elsewhere, they've been able to knock down the freebies.

That's something McCasland knows his team will need to continue has Big 12 play begins on Saturday in Austin.

"That is the formula when you're playing on the road," McCasland said. "How do you take that on the road and win because at home there is some confidence shooting. Usually you're feeling more confident shooting, but on the road, you've got to really get paint and get to the foul line.

"It'll be an emphasis to our success and I think it's been a key to our run."

More: On heels of Pop Isaacs' career high, Texas Tech basketball rounding into form

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Free throws key to Texas Tech basketball's six-game win streak