2008 ncca tournament bracket
2008 ncca tournament schedule
NCAA tournament bracket
Davidson's Stephen Curry was one of the big stories of the NCAA Tournament's first round, and the son of former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry will need another huge game on Sunday to lead his 10th-seeded club over No. 2 seed Georgetown in the Midwest Region and on into the Sweet 16, with the Hoyas 5-point betting favorites on WagerWeb.com.
Curry made a national name for himself Friday when he hit 8 of 10 3-pointers, scored 30 of his 40 points in the second half and hit the tie-breaking 3 with a minute left to lead the Wildcats to an 82-76 win over Gonzaga.
"He did it against man to man, three different guys," Davidson coach Bob McKillop said. "He did it against the diamond and one. He did it against the 2-3 zone. He did it against constant switching. He did it against players who were sitting on his top side, sitting on his bottom side. ... He was magnificent in his performance."
Curry's performance came in front of his parents, who are regulars at Davidson games and watched from the front row.
"It was amazing, man," said Dell Curry, who retired from the NBA in 2002 and now works for the Charlotte Bobcats. "I tell you, I know what my parents felt like now."
It was a performance that put Davidson, with its enrollment of 1,700 students, into the second round for the first time since Lefty Driesell led the school to two regional finals in the 1960s. It will bring the nation's longest winning streak at 23 games into Sunday's game.
Georgetown (28-5) beat UMBC 66-47 on Friday. Star center Roy Hibbert was one of four Hoyas who scored in double-figures against UMBC. He and guard Jonathan Wallace each had 13 points, as the Hoyas shot 51 percent.
Hibbert, 7-foot-2, altered UMBC's shots, drew double-teams and kicked the ball out for open looks. Patrick Ewing Jr. added 10 points for the Hoyas, who had a 22-5 run late in the first half.
And the Georgetown players know who Curry is, that's for sure.
"He's a real good player," Hibbert said of Curry. "We'll go over some more film and go over the scouting report and figure out how we can stop him."
The Hoyas are 2-0 in second-round games under Coach John Thompson III, and both were battles: They upset second-seeded Ohio State in Dayton in 2006, and they needed a second-half comeback to beat Boston College last year.
Davidson, incidentally, beat in the Hoyas in each of Thompson's first two seasons.
"Watching Davidson makes me feel worried," Thompson III said. "That's a terrific team that's playing very well right now. You don't accomplish what they accomplished in their regular season and in their tournament and not be a very good team with very good players."
Curry is the fifth-best scorer in the country, averaging 25.1 points per game. He does the most damage from the perimeter, averaging 4.3 three-pointers per game.
Curry's supporting cast can do some damage of their own, too. Senior guard Jason Richards had 15 points and nine assists against Gonzaga. He leads the nation in assists - no doubt thanks to Curry – averaging eight per game.
In the frontcourt, the Wildcats rely on forward Andrew Lovedale to patrol the boards. He finished with a double-double against Gonzaga (12 points, 13 rebounds).
Prediction: Davidson hung tough in losses to UNC, Duke and UCLA this season, so this step up in competition won't face their players. Still, Georgetown is one of the country's better defensive units (leading the nation in field goal percentage) and will certainly hound Curry every time he gets the ball. And the Wildcats have no answer for Hibbert inside. Take Georgetown and give the points.
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