Davidson Wildcats
Odds: +4 ½, 127 vs. Wisconsin
Game time: Fri. March 28, 7:10 p.m. ET
A star was born on Sunday when Stephen Curry turned his team’s showdown with the big, bad Georgetown Hoyas into his own personal shooting gallery. If you weren’t sold on Dell Curry’s kid after he hung 40 on Gonzaga in the first round, then you couldn’t deny his pure shooting brilliance after the Georgetown win.
Georgetown used guards Jonathan Wallace and Jeremiah Rivers to pressure Curry at the perimeter and they did an excellent job. The constant harassment caused Curry’s accuracy to dip to 38 percent from the field and 33 percent from three-point range, but Curry showed he is a shooter and he didn’t shy away from shots, still managing 30 points including five three-balls.
Even as a five-point underdog against this beast from the Big East, Davidson never stumbled, never looked scared. No matter how tight the press got, Curry or point guard Jason Richards almost always found an outlet to the open man and got good looks at the basket. Their ball movement on offense was outstanding.
Don’t get the wrong impression, even though Curry is getting all the press, this Davidson team isn’t a one-man show. The offense actually goes through Richards, who led the nation this season with eight assists per game and his average hasn’t gone down in the tournament. Andrew Lovedale isn’t the biggest forward at 205 pounds, but he’s done some serious work in the paint so far with 23 points and 18 rebounds in two games.
Wisconsin will try to bully the Wildcats with their bigger, burlier players, but Davidson knows how to finesse their way to wins. Muscle didn’t work for Georgetown and that team had more skill to go with the size. Could the Cinderella story continue?
Pick: Davidson
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