AUBURN | Auburn’s free throw shooting has gone from bad to very good in the space of just four games.

The Tigers went into the Texas A&M game Jan. 2 shooting 60.7 percent from the line, which ranked 13th in the SEC and 314th in the NCAA. Against the Aggies, Ole Miss, Alabama and Georgia, Auburn has shot 80.6 percent. That 80.6 percent would currently ranks tops in the conference and sixth nationally.

“You know, we work on them,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “We put them in pressure situations. We spend lots of time on it. It's one of our keys to try and be a championship team, is being a good free throw-shooting team.”

The four-game stretch has pushed AU’s free throw percentage up five points to 65.8, which ranks 12th in the SEC and 276th nationally. One of the pressure situations Pearl uses in practice is called the 50 club.

“We focus on that a lot,” said Devan Cambridge. “You've got to make 10 in a row, and then you rotate. You try to get to 50 in 15 minutes, so we do that a lot in practice -- like every day. We try to focus on free-throw shooting. All we can do is keep working on it, and hopefully it translates to the game.”

Another plus for AU at the charity strips has been the addition of Sharife Cooper. In two games, the freshman point guard has made 19 of 22 free throws for an 86.4 percentage.

“Sharife getting to the line. He's a great free-throw shooter,” said Pearl. “Allen (Flanigan) getting to the line, he's a great free-throw shooter. JT's got to the line more, and he really has got a great stroke. He'll shoot better than his percentage right now. Jamal Johnson has shot it better.

“Getting the right guys to the line -- and then some of the guys have improved and work really hard at trying to, you know, make them when they get an opportunity.”

Auburn, 7-6 overall and 1-4 in the SEC, hosts Kentucky, 4-7 and 3-1, Saturday at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN.