Curry on Davidson star helps team slay another Goliath
DETROIT — After all those Davidson students came all that way, the least Stephen Curry and Co. could do was give them a good game.
Did they ever.
And now the Wildcats' band of merry travelers gets to see another before climbing back on the buses.
Curry went over the 30-point mark for a third straight game, and 10th-seeded Davidson extended its wonderful ride for at least another game with a 73-56 romp over Wisconsin on Friday night. The Wildcats will play top-seeded Kansas for a trip to the Final Four.
"I couldn't be more pleased," Davidson coach Bob McKillop said. "So many guys contributed in so many ways to make this a very special victory for Davidson College."
In pushing the nation's longest winning streak to 25 games, Davidson also represented for the little guys. Of the three double-digit seeds that reached the regional semifinals, the Wildcats are the only one left.
And they are by far the lowest seed standing, with the four No. 1s, one 2 and two 3s advancing.
"We've said it all season long, that if we stick together as a team, it's a recipe for success," Max Paulhus Gosselin said. "We aren't intimidated by anyone. Why should we be?"
Why should they be, indeed. They have Curry, while everybody else is still trying to figure out a way to stop him.
Curry, the son of former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry, outscored the Badgers all by himself in the second half, 22-20. He finished with 33 points on 11-for-22 shooting, including six 3-pointers.
Add in his 30-point effort against Maryland in last year's NCAA tournament, and Curry joins Clyde Lovellette of Kansas, Jerry Chambers of Utah and Glenn Robinson of Purdue as the only players to score 30 or more in their first four NCAA tournament games.
"In the NBA, I never experienced this as a player. I don't think even in all my playoff games in my career that I've felt like this," said Dell Curry, who was getting congratulatory see your son succeed and have fun on a national stage is great."
Kansas 72, Villanova 57
The Kansas Jayhawks toyed with Villanova, throwing alley-oop passes off the backboard and raining 3-pointers from all over the court without breaking a sweat.
Brandon Rush scored 16 points, Russell Robinson had 15 and top-seeded Kansas routed the 12th-seeded Wildcats. The Jayhawks (34-3) will try to reach the Final Four for the first time since 2003.
Memphis 92, Michigan State 74
HOUSTON — The mighty Memphis Tigers humiliated Michigan State and embarrassed all those naysayers who suggested they were the most suspect of the top seeds in this year's NCAA tournament.
Next up for the top-seeded Tigers in the South Regional, a game Sunday against Texas with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
Texas 82, Stanford 62
Little D.J. Augustin set the tempo, 299-pound Dexter Pittman pounded and pestered Brook Lopez and Texas defeated Stanford.
Playing in front of a home-state crowd dressed in burnt orange, the Longhorns moved one win away from their first Final Four since 2003.
Mixing their inside and outside games, the Longhorns (31-6) took control early. Still, they were up only 52-51 after Lopez did everything but dribble the ball up the court to rally the Cardinal (28-8). Texas answered with a 20-3 run.
