This unacceptable stat from the Duke loss to Texas Tech can't happen again

The Duke Blue Devils suffered their first loss of the season, and it was by just one point at the hands of the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

The game was as close as possible, but one stat line shows that the Blue Devils were pretty much asking for the loss, failing to produce give-me shots that could have pushed Duke ahead of Texas Tech on the score sheet.

Throughout the 82-81 loss, Duke shot just 59 percent from the free-throw line, missing 12 shots from the charity stripe that literally could have made the difference in the final score.

Duke's free throw troubles spell disaster against Texas Tech

The Blue Devils shot 52 percent from the field and 37 percent from three-point range, which certainly didn't help the effort as they fell short.

Don't get it wrong, the Red Raiders didn't have a great shooting night, finishing just 65 percent from the free-throw line, and only shooting 32 percent from beyond the arc.

However, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer should be supremely disappointed by his players' 59 percent free-throw shooting, especially when the Blue Devils suffered the loss by just one point.

To put it into better perspective, throughout the season, Duke has shot 70.3 percent from the charity stripe, including the dreadful effort against Texas Tech.

Simply put, if the Blue Devils want to continue to contend against the other top teams in the country, Duke has to fix simple issues like struggling at the free-throw line. The good news? Duke has some time to work on its most glaring flaw.

The Blue Devils are off until Dec. 31, when they start ACC play against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. So, while the players should still enjoy the holidays, they also need to make sure they are ready to return to greatness as conference play tips off.

On New Year's Eve, Duke and Georgia Tech are scheduled to play at 4 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on the ACC Network.