Since 2001, Villanova has been the most accurate team in the country from the free throw line.

There isn’t much of a better equalizer in measuring college basketball teams than the free throw. That one shot is the exact same for every single team in the sport. Yet some teams excel from the charity stripe while others make the “free” part look ironic.

So we decided to rank teams by their free-throw shooting performance this century.

And the winner was Villanova.

RELATED: The best 3-point shooting college basketball teams this century

How did we get there?

Looking solely at free throw percentage or free throws made per game would be insufficient. How do you decide whether a team that went 5-for-5 is better than a team that went 8-for-10? Instead, we created a quick and dirty free throw index — a measurement of how teams perform compared to the field in both categories. (If you want to see the exact formula we used and a more in-depth explanation of it, scroll to the bottom of this article.)

In the 18 years we looked at, Villanova had the highest free-throw percentage (74.41 percent), and the 13th-most made free throws per game (16.59). No other team in Division I can beat that.

The full rankings are below, but first, a few takeaways from the data:

Not counting the 2018-19 season, there have been 3,948,821 free throws shot by Division I teams this century. Of those, 2,738,488 were made.

Since 2001, the average Division I team shoots 20.7 free throws per game and makes 14.3. But those numbers are actually trending down. In 2001, teams shot an average of 22.4 and made 15.4. In 2018, they’re shooting 19.6 and making 14.

As a result, a slightly non-surprising trend follows: Free throw percentage has increased nearly every year. Last season saw the highest mark this century, with teams making 71.3 percent of their free throws.

The best free-throw shooting performance this century came from Wisconsin in 2011. That year, the Badgers were 436-for-533 from the line, good for 81.8 percent. That Wisconsin team went 25-9 on the season, earning a 4-seed in the NCAA tournament, where they lost in the Sweet 16 to national championship runner-up Butler.

Besides Wisconsin, only six teams have shot at least 80 percent from the line on a season this century:

Year School FTM FTA FT% Record 2011 Wisconsin 436 533 0.818 25-9 2012 Weber State 538 661 0.814 25-7 2018 William & Mary 479 591 0.81 19-12 2011 Harvard 523 646 0.81 23-7 2018 Central Michigan 573 711 0.806 21-15 2018 Marquette 483 600 0.805 21-14 2017 Notre Dame 489 611 0.8 26-10

The worst showing this century came from Prairie View in 2012. The Panthers were 340-for-629 — 54.1 percent. They went 14-18 on the season.

No one has shot more free throws in a season than Kentucky did in 2014. The Wildcats went to the line 1,146 times that year — almost 500 times more than the average of 653. Yet they only made 68.2 percent of their shots. That’s 365 points left on the court. To be fair, Kentucky played 40 games that season — way higher than the average of 32 since 2001. If you wanted the team that went to the free throw line the most often, that’d be Nevada in 2002. The Wolfpack shot 31.7 free throws per game that year — the most this century.

Here are the full rankings (includes all teams that were part of Division I between 2001 and 2018):

RANK School FT/G FT% FT index 1 Villanova 16.59 74.41% 0.933 2 Incarnate Word 17.40 72.34% 0.925 3 Arizona 16.81 73.49% 0.918 4 Duke 17.18 72.22% 0.902 5 South Dakota State 16.23 74.12% 0.894 6 Brigham Young 16.62 72.93% 0.882 7 Gonzaga 16.85 72.23% 0.875 8 Weber State 16.35 72.90% 0.859 9 Omaha 16.26 72.97% 0.854 10 Xavier 16.72 71.80% 0.849 11 Niagara 17.04 71.04% 0.848 12 Cal State Northridge 16.70 71.66% 0.842 13 Nevada 16.76 71.26% 0.834 14 Oakland 16.60 71.35% 0.823 15 Grand Canyon 16.92 70.35% 0.813 16 Oklahoma State 15.95 72.07% 0.796 17 Wyoming 16.71 70.25% 0.792 18 Oral Roberts 15.89 71.82% 0.782 19 Colorado State 16.26 70.92% 0.780 20 Marquette 15.71 72.07% 0.776 21 Western Michigan 16.03 71.08% 0.767 22 Manhattan 16.23 70.64% 0.767 23 Wake Forest 16.58 69.72% 0.763 24 Maryland 16.01 70.90% 0.759 25 Evansville 15.50 71.98% 0.756 26 Oregon 15.22 72.59% 0.755 27 Utah Valley 14.98 72.74% 0.741 28 St. Bonaventure 15.31 71.95% 0.739 29 Wichita State 15.11 72.19% 0.732 30 South Dakota 15.11 72.20% 0.732 31 Lehigh 14.86 72.70% 0.730 32 North Carolina 16.05 69.95% 0.728 33 Drake 14.82 72.63% 0.723 34 Notre Dame 14.61 73.07% 0.722 35 Tennessee Tech 15.99 69.84% 0.718 36 Texas Tech 15.47 70.96% 0.717 37 North Texas 16.41 68.75% 0.713 38 New Mexico 15.88 69.94% 0.713 39 Stanford 15.62 70.38% 0.708 40 Harvard 14.68 72.45% 0.706 41 Connecticut 15.52 70.47% 0.703 42 North Carolina State 15.27 71.01% 0.702 43 Green Bay 14.97 71.67% 0.701 44 Iowa 15.36 70.77% 0.701 45 North Carolina-Asheville 15.37 70.74% 0.700 46 Lafayette 14.02 73.70% 0.697 47 Texas-El Paso 15.96 69.28% 0.696 48 Davidson 14.19 73.28% 0.696 49 Northern Colorado 15.34 70.68% 0.695 50 Oklahoma 14.68 72.13% 0.694 51 Providence 15.34 70.60% 0.693 52 Colorado 15.62 69.94% 0.692 53 Georgetown 14.95 71.41% 0.690 54 Brown 15.15 70.93% 0.689 55 Morehead State 14.89 71.44% 0.687 56 Siena 15.40 70.24% 0.685 57 Tulsa 15.47 70.09% 0.685 58 Indiana 14.97 71.21% 0.685 59 Long Island University 15.90 69.10% 0.685 60 Centenary (LA) 15.07 70.96% 0.684 61 Northwestern State 16.52 67.68% 0.683 62 Kentucky 15.66 69.60% 0.683 63 Texas-Arlington 15.85 69.13% 0.682 64 Ohio 15.13 70.70% 0.679 65 Central Michigan 15.04 70.80% 0.676 66 Kansas 15.54 69.64% 0.674 67 Creighton 14.38 72.22% 0.673 68 Mercer 14.92 70.89% 0.669 69 Lamar 16.06 68.08% 0.661 70 East Tennessee State 15.52 69.29% 0.661 71 Saint Mary's (CA) 14.74 71.03% 0.659 72 North Dakota State 14.29 72.02% 0.659 73 Chattanooga 15.87 68.44% 0.658 74 Michigan State 14.31 71.95% 0.657 75 Birmingham-Southern 15.11 70.05% 0.654 76 Tennessee 15.25 69.69% 0.653 77 Missouri 14.89 70.50% 0.652 78 Eastern Washington 14.69 70.91% 0.651 79 New Mexico State 15.89 68.20% 0.651 80 Vanderbilt 14.58 71.14% 0.650 81 Lipscomb 15.69 68.56% 0.648 82 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 15.41 69.11% 0.644 83 Purdue 14.66 70.78% 0.643 84 Little Rock 15.22 69.51% 0.643 85 Southern Mississippi 15.21 69.51% 0.643 86 Utah 14.10 71.89% 0.638 87 Albany (NY) 13.68 72.84% 0.638 88 Butler 14.15 71.77% 0.638 89 Murray State 14.89 70.05% 0.636 90 Baylor 14.59 70.71% 0.635 91 Rice 14.65 70.57% 0.635 92 Utah State 13.94 72.17% 0.635 93 IUPUI 14.28 71.34% 0.633 94 Iona 15.01 69.69% 0.633 95 Nevada-Las Vegas 15.07 69.51% 0.632 96 Southern Utah 14.43 70.98% 0.632 97 Houston Baptist 15.55 68.42% 0.631 98 Missouri State 14.41 70.97% 0.630 99 Portland 14.23 71.34% 0.629 100 Boston College 14.64 70.41% 0.629 101 Texas 15.55 68.34% 0.628 102 Arkansas State 15.00 69.58% 0.628 103 Montana 14.56 70.55% 0.627 104 Northern Iowa 13.63 72.66% 0.627 105 Bradley 14.40 70.80% 0.623 106 Austin Peay 15.46 68.40% 0.623 107 Vermont 14.83 69.82% 0.623 108 Alabama 14.92 69.60% 0.622 109 Hawaii 15.00 69.39% 0.621 110 Arizona State 14.91 69.60% 0.621 111 Marshall 15.45 68.37% 0.621 112 Yale 14.79 69.87% 0.621 113 La Salle 14.16 71.22% 0.618 114 Florida State 14.84 69.68% 0.618 115 North Carolina Central 14.76 69.85% 0.618 116 Arkansas 15.20 68.85% 0.618 117 Washington 15.21 68.80% 0.617 118 West Virginia 14.76 69.77% 0.615 119 Valparaiso 14.65 69.97% 0.613 120 Santa Clara 14.18 71.00% 0.613 121 Sam Houston State 15.78 67.36% 0.612 122 Belmont 13.99 71.40% 0.611 123 Virginia 13.91 71.54% 0.610 124 Bucknell 14.54 70.02% 0.606 125 UC-Davis 13.98 71.26% 0.605 126 Miami (FL) 13.99 71.20% 0.604 127 Portland State 14.84 69.28% 0.604 128 Buffalo 14.99 68.88% 0.602 129 Texas-San Antonio 15.48 67.78% 0.602 130 Loyola Marymount 14.39 70.23% 0.602 131 Boise State 14.24 70.53% 0.600 132 Saint Joseph's 14.65 69.58% 0.600 133 New Orleans 15.45 67.74% 0.598 134 Wright State 13.99 71.01% 0.597 135 Memphis 15.77 66.94% 0.595 136 Texas State 15.26 68.08% 0.595 137 Kent State 14.51 69.76% 0.595 138 Charlotte 15.17 68.25% 0.594 139 Florida 14.42 69.87% 0.591 140 North Dakota 14.98 68.58% 0.590 141 Northern Arizona 14.28 70.16% 0.590 142 Loyola (MD) 14.67 69.28% 0.590 143 George Washington 14.93 68.69% 0.590 144 University of California 14.44 69.79% 0.590 145 Mississippi 14.63 69.36% 0.589 146 Georgia 14.65 69.31% 0.589 147 Pacific 14.30 70.09% 0.589 148 Tennessee-Martin 14.51 69.57% 0.587 149 Wisconsin 13.81 71.09% 0.585 150 Indiana State 14.04 70.50% 0.583 151 Toledo 14.39 69.72% 0.583 152 Delaware 14.45 69.57% 0.583 153 Fairfield 14.04 70.36% 0.578 154 Minnesota 14.30 69.77% 0.577 155 Robert Morris 14.08 70.22% 0.576 156 Kansas State 15.25 67.57% 0.576 157 Quinnipiac 14.92 68.30% 0.575 158 Cal State Fullerton 14.51 69.16% 0.573 159 Pepperdine 14.25 69.72% 0.571 160 Bowling Green State 13.97 70.31% 0.570 161 Central Connecticut State 13.51 71.36% 0.570 162 Monmouth 14.15 69.85% 0.568 163 UC-Santa Barbara 13.72 70.77% 0.566 164 Northeastern 13.84 70.46% 0.564 165 Liberty 13.94 70.20% 0.564 166 Houston 14.26 69.45% 0.562 167 Virginia Tech 14.75 68.32% 0.562 168 Jacksonville 14.65 68.54% 0.562 169 Tennessee State 14.23 69.48% 0.561 170 Ball State 14.42 69.03% 0.561 171 Alabama-Birmingham 14.35 69.16% 0.560 172 Louisville 14.60 68.58% 0.559 173 Stephen F. Austin 14.24 69.39% 0.559 174 Appalachian State 14.54 68.69% 0.558 175 Dayton 14.39 69.00% 0.557 176 UCLA 14.12 69.58% 0.556 177 Illinois-Chicago 14.38 69.00% 0.556 178 Abilene Christian 13.49 70.94% 0.553 179 San Diego 14.35 68.98% 0.553 180 Eastern Michigan 14.74 68.10% 0.553 181 Coppin State 13.81 70.15% 0.551 182 Campbell 14.33 68.96% 0.551 183 Texas Christian 15.03 67.33% 0.549 184 South Alabama 14.64 68.21% 0.549 185 Eastern Illinois 13.17 71.52% 0.548 186 Louisiana 15.10 67.13% 0.548 187 Iowa State 13.82 70.03% 0.547 188 Idaho State 14.20 69.16% 0.547 189 Michigan 12.63 72.71% 0.547 190 Eastern Kentucky 13.24 71.30% 0.546 191 Akron 14.36 68.76% 0.546 192 Southern Methodist 14.11 69.30% 0.545 193 Texas Southern 15.58 65.96% 0.545 194 Holy Cross 14.08 69.35% 0.545 195 Montana State 14.12 69.28% 0.544 196 Hofstra 14.79 67.72% 0.544 197 Ohio State 14.06 69.36% 0.543 198 Middle Tennessee 14.19 69.03% 0.542 199 Western Kentucky 14.52 68.29% 0.542 200 UC-Irvine 13.62 70.31% 0.542 201 Hampton 15.40 66.28% 0.541 202 Seton Hall 14.15 69.08% 0.541 203 Milwaukee 14.18 69.00% 0.540 204 Missouri-Kansas City 13.78 69.92% 0.540 205 Loyola (IL) 13.46 70.59% 0.538 206 Columbia 12.99 71.64% 0.538 207 Syracuse 14.52 68.15% 0.537 208 Massachusetts-Lowell 13.67 70.06% 0.537 209 James Madison 14.03 69.25% 0.536 210 Virginia Commonwealth 14.20 68.81% 0.535 211 Tulane 14.41 68.33% 0.534 212 VMI 14.23 68.71% 0.533 213 George Mason 14.18 68.77% 0.532 214 Long Beach State 14.49 68.07% 0.531 215 William & Mary 13.55 70.17% 0.530 216 Rhode Island 14.43 68.16% 0.530 217 Washington State 13.12 71.12% 0.529 218 Denver 12.70 72.04% 0.529 219 Southeast Missouri State 14.10 68.86% 0.528 220 Fresno State 14.30 68.41% 0.528 221 East Carolina 14.38 68.19% 0.527 222 Texas-Rio Grande Valley 14.47 67.99% 0.527 223 Marist 13.78 69.52% 0.525 224 Rider 14.24 68.42% 0.524 225 Wagner 14.08 68.70% 0.521 226 North Carolina-Greensboro 13.88 69.15% 0.521 227 Saint Francis (PA) 13.33 70.36% 0.519 228 Duquesne 14.24 68.30% 0.519 229 Howard 14.61 67.43% 0.518 230 Detroit Mercy 13.95 68.83% 0.515 231 Texas A&M 14.63 67.28% 0.514 232 San Diego State 14.19 68.27% 0.514 233 McNeese State 14.10 68.39% 0.511 234 Miami (OH) 12.80 71.22% 0.507 235 High Point 13.75 69.08% 0.507 236 Fort Wayne 13.44 69.75% 0.506 237 Illinois 12.97 70.80% 0.506 238 Drexel 14.02 68.40% 0.505 239 Oregon State 14.08 68.25% 0.505 240 Cal State Bakersfield 14.05 68.27% 0.503 241 St. John's (NY) 14.18 67.96% 0.502 242 Louisiana State 13.88 68.62% 0.502 243 Cleveland State 13.47 69.55% 0.501 244 Jacksonville State 13.95 68.39% 0.499 245 Mississippi State 14.23 67.74% 0.498 246 Citadel 13.48 69.44% 0.498 247 Penn State 13.18 70.07% 0.497 248 Louisiana Tech 14.26 67.63% 0.496 249 Furman 13.32 69.74% 0.496 250 Nebraska 13.59 69.10% 0.495 251 College of Charleston 13.28 69.74% 0.492 252 Pittsburgh 14.18 67.63% 0.490 253 South Carolina State 14.10 67.77% 0.489 254 Southern Illinois 13.75 68.56% 0.489 255 Boston University 13.20 69.80% 0.488 256 NJIT 13.65 68.78% 0.488 257 Cincinnati 13.92 68.16% 0.488 258 Jackson State 14.32 67.23% 0.487 259 Sacramento State 13.98 67.96% 0.486 260 Towson 14.29 67.25% 0.486 261 Northern Illinois 14.15 67.56% 0.485 262 Fairleigh Dickinson 13.89 68.13% 0.484 263 Winthrop 14.02 67.83% 0.484 264 Idaho 13.55 68.74% 0.479 265 Western Carolina 13.56 68.71% 0.478 266 Cal Poly 13.14 69.65% 0.478 267 Central Florida 13.90 67.92% 0.478 268 Georgia Southern 14.29 66.97% 0.475 269 Canisius 13.02 69.83% 0.474 270 Navy 13.76 68.10% 0.473 271 Southern California 13.84 67.90% 0.472 272 San Francisco 13.81 67.97% 0.472 273 Coastal Carolina 13.77 68.05% 0.472 274 Illinois State 13.15 69.45% 0.472 275 Norfolk State 14.43 66.51% 0.471 276 Stetson 13.62 68.32% 0.469 277 Auburn 14.39 66.54% 0.468 278 SIU Edwardsville 13.83 67.80% 0.467 279 Cornell 12.57 70.51% 0.462 280 Alabama A&M 14.86 65.31% 0.462 281 Saint Louis 13.48 68.38% 0.460 282 North Florida 13.58 68.11% 0.458 283 Stony Brook 13.35 68.60% 0.457 284 Nicholls State 13.72 67.75% 0.457 285 Bryant 12.72 70.01% 0.457 286 Georgia Tech 13.61 67.97% 0.456 287 Wofford 13.11 69.10% 0.455 288 Alcorn State 14.46 66.00% 0.454 289 Florida Gulf Coast 13.70 67.70% 0.453 290 Georgia State 13.31 68.54% 0.452 291 Florida Atlantic 13.39 68.32% 0.451 292 Massachusetts 13.83 67.29% 0.449 293 Youngstown State 13.58 67.81% 0.447 294 Radford 14.19 66.41% 0.447 295 Pennsylvania 13.17 68.69% 0.446 296 Western Illinois 13.08 68.85% 0.445 297 Longwood 12.67 69.71% 0.442 298 Troy 12.90 69.14% 0.440 299 Richmond 12.75 69.45% 0.439 300 Morgan State 14.45 65.61% 0.439 301 South Carolina 13.41 67.91% 0.437 302 San Jose State 13.14 68.52% 0.437 303 Central Arkansas 14.41 65.55% 0.433 304 DePaul 13.23 68.16% 0.432 305 Maine 12.99 68.68% 0.430 306 Colgate 12.51 69.72% 0.429 307 Princeton 11.57 71.78% 0.426 308 Mount St. Mary's 12.92 68.71% 0.426 309 Army 12.37 69.87% 0.423 310 Air Force 12.36 69.88% 0.422 311 Northern Kentucky 12.61 69.30% 0.422 312 Temple 12.63 69.23% 0.421 313 North Carolina-Wilmington 12.90 68.54% 0.418 314 North Carolina A&T 14.32 65.30% 0.417 315 Sacred Heart 13.09 68.05% 0.416 316 St. Francis (NY) 13.79 66.32% 0.411 317 Maryland-Baltimore County 13.18 67.65% 0.408 318 Old Dominion 13.18 67.53% 0.405 319 New Hampshire 13.09 67.65% 0.401 320 Bethune-Cookman 13.51 66.56% 0.396 321 Clemson 13.36 66.87% 0.396 322 Samford 11.92 70.11% 0.395 323 UC-Riverside 12.70 68.31% 0.394 324 Florida A&M 14.05 65.22% 0.392 325 Seattle 12.95 67.67% 0.391 326 Southeastern Louisiana 13.43 66.57% 0.390 327 Florida International 13.65 66.06% 0.390 328 Gardner-Webb 12.78 67.66% 0.377 329 Binghamton 12.56 68.15% 0.376 330 Chicago State 13.03 67.08% 0.375 331 Rutgers 13.08 66.89% 0.373 332 Elon 12.59 68.01% 0.373 333 Charleston Southern 12.58 67.91% 0.369 334 American 12.06 69.08% 0.369 335 Saint Peter's 12.72 67.33% 0.359 336 Louisiana-Monroe 12.83 67.05% 0.358 337 Delaware State 11.88 69.19% 0.358 338 Presbyterian 11.56 69.89% 0.357 339 South Florida 13.28 65.97% 0.356 340 Kennesaw State 12.64 67.38% 0.355 341 Mississippi Valley State 13.06 66.36% 0.352 342 Grambling 13.29 65.80% 0.351 343 Southern 13.64 64.99% 0.350 344 Dartmouth 11.56 69.27% 0.335 345 Maryland-Eastern Shore 13.13 65.51% 0.327 346 Alabama State 13.66 64.00% 0.316 347 Northwestern 11.30 69.01% 0.304 348 Fordham 12.39 66.18% 0.291 349 Hartford 11.82 66.99% 0.274 350 Prairie View 13.15 62.87% 0.233 351 South Carolina Upstate 12.00 65.43% 0.231 352 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 12.40 64.33% 0.224 353 Savannah State 12.39 64.12% 0.216 354 Morris Brown 12.72 60.62% 0.116

Here’s the formula we used for that free-throw index:

There are three steps to it:

1. On the top left of the formula: Compare a team's free throws made per game to the range of free throws made per game among all schools.

2. On the top right of the formula: Compare a team's free throw percentage to the range of free throw percentages among all schools.

3. Combine those two numbers and take the average, giving us the free throw index. Generally speaking, a free throw index of 1 would be a team that is the best in both categories, while one of zero would be a team that is the worst in each category.