Two painted lines 15 feet from the baseline, one on each end of the court, act as under the radar locations on the 94-foot long hardwood court. The power of those lines is almost unfathomable — they are of paramount importance to UK’s postseason run.

But the Cats won’t be in unfamiliar territory when the whistle screeches and a player dressed in a white jersey with blue numerals steps up to that line. The 13-man UK squad is among the 75 best teams in college basketball at getting to that line, a line the Cats have met 777 times this year.

An entertaining SEC Championship duel between UK and Texas A&M on Sunday made it clear that if UK wants to win in the NCAA Tournament, it will have to make critical free throws down the stretch.

Of the 47 total free throws in the Sunday’s title game, the Cats shot 24 of them — 16 of which they made. But there was no trip to the line more important than the one junior forward Derek Willis made with two and a half minutes left in overtime.

Willis stepped to the line with the score UK 74, Texas A&M 72. Hitting both free throws could push the lead to two possessions and give the Cats a firm grip on the game’s momentum.

He missed the first, took a deep breath, and buried the second, which was just as crucial as the first. Hall of Fame coach John Calipari was pleased, and probably relieved, his team’s best free throw shooter delivered when it mattered most.

“Derek needed to defend a little bit better today, but he made the shots in the free throw that we really needed to create a gap,” Calipari said.

Willis wasn’t the only one who displayed poise and confidence from the charity stripe against Texas A&M, so did Tyler Ulis and Alex Poythress.

With UK nursing a three-point lead and under three minutes to go in the second half, Ulis was fouled after an Aggie dunk and drilled both free throws. Texas A&M answered with a jumper from Jalen Jones, but a pair of Poythress free throws bumped the lead back to five.

“We’ve got to make free throws,” Jamal Murray said after finishing 4-5 from the line in Sunday’s win. “Because sometimes when they freeze us — freeze me or Tyler out or (Alex) — we’ve got to be able to get points on the board somehow. And today we hit. (Alex) hit free throws, Derek made a few of them, I made a couple.”

The Cats shot 77 percent (54-70) in their three games during the SEC Tournament, a number that was noticeably better than their season average of 67.5 before arriving in Nashville.

Even Isaiah Briscoe, who has struggled mightily at the line this season, shot better than his season average in the postseason. Once all 31 regular season games came to an end, Briscoe was sitting at 42.1 percent from the line. But in the SEC Tournament, that percentage shot up to 54.5 percent.  

“They’re going to be key, especially down the stretch if we’re going to be playing these close games,” Briscoe said. “We’ve got to make free throws.”

UK proved this weekend it can hit clutch shots in the postseason. More specifically, it can hit shots from the lines painted 15 feet from the baseline with the score tight and the time low. And the scariest, most impressive part?

Calipari says his team can do even better.