Curry Shines Again As Davidson Knocks Off Wisconsin
POSTED: 11:17 pm CDT March 28,
2008
Detroit, MI -- (Sports Network) - Stephen Curry poured in 33 points as Davidson continued its magical run in the NCAA Tournament by running away from Wisconsin, 73-56, and advancing to the Midwest Regional final.Curry, the son of former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry, finished 11-of-22 from the floor and 6-of-11 from three-point range for the 10th-seeded Wildcats (29-6), who extended the nation's longest winning streak to 25 games while recording their third straight upset in the tourney. Davidson previously upended seventh-seeded Gonzaga (82-76) in the first round before pulling off a giant upset by stunning second-seeded Georgetown, 74-70. "I tried not to force anything," Curry said. "It's hard for a defense to sustain themselves for a whole 40 minutes. Eventually you'll find yourself open if you're patient and stick to the system that we worked on all year." Jason Richards added 11 points and 13 assists for the Wildcats, who hadn't won an NCAA Tournament game in 39 years prior to their current run. Andrew Lovedale chipped in with 12 points.
Davidson now moves on to face Kansas on Sunday. Michael Flowers had 12 points and six rebounds for the Badgers (31-5), who had won 12 straight coming in and were playing in their fourth Sweet 16 contest in school history. "It wasn't a matter of just guarding him," Flowers said of Curry. "They did a great job of running him off double screens and even some triple screens. He doesn't need much time to get the ball and release it, and they were giving him that time." Brian Butch and Jason Bohannon added 11 points apiece for Wisconsin, while Joe Krabbenhoft had 10. Badgers star guard Trevon Hughes was limited to eight minutes in the first half and four minutes in the second with an injured right foot. Hughes was 0-for-3 from the floor and did not score. The game was even entering the final frame but Davidson seized control in the opening moments of the stanza. The Wildcats opened the half with an 10-2 push, capped by a pair of Curry free throws to make it 46-38 with just under 16 minutes left. Wisconsin hung in for a few more minutes but four straight threes, three by Curry and another from Richards, extended Davidson's advantage to 15 points, 60-45, with 10:20 remaining. "I stopped being amazed by Steph Curry in December of last year," said Davidson coach Bob McKillop. "What he did today is what I expect from him. He does that so consistently and that's a measure of the confidence that I alluded to. We've got Steph Curry. That's pretty good stuff." The Wildcats kept piling it on from there. Another Curry jumper gave Davidson its largest lead of the night, 69-46, with just 5:36 left in the game. The Badgers made up some ground in the final moments but never seriously threatened. "They did some really great things and hit some big shots," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. "Give them credit. I just wish Trevon was healthy. It would have been a better game. I don't know who would have won, but it is a shame that our seniors didn't get that chance. We had to play without one of our key parts." The threes were raining in the Motor City during an extremely tight first half. Wisconsin made 7-of-17 from beyond the arc in the frame, while the Wildcats were an astonishing 8-of-12. Trailing by three, Davidson went on an 8-0 run to take its largest lead of the half. Richards and Bryant Barr stroked consecutive threes before Lovedale drained a jumper to put the Wildcats up 33-28 with 4:33 left in the half. The Badgers quickly recovered to deadlock things over the next two minutes thanks to a Flowers trey and a Krabbenhoft layup. The back-and-fourth action continued from there and the teams entered intermission knotted at 36. Game Notes NBA superstar LeBron James was in the Ford Field crowd...Curry, Davidson's leading scorer on the season at 25.7 points per game, tallied 40 points against Gonzaga and then 30 against Georgetown...Davidson is now 8-10 all-time in this event, while Wisconsin fell to 19-13...The Badgers ended their season with 31 wins, a school record...The Badgers and Wildcats met just one time previously on the hardwood, with Davidson capturing a 67-63 victory all the way back in 1980.
Copyright 2008 Courtesy of The Sports Network.






