Someone forgot to tell Stephen Curry that small schools aren’t supposed to go this far in March. Someone also forgot to tell three seed Wisconsin that they are supposed to beat the small schools in March. In the end Davidson, a school small enough to bus its students from North Carolina to Detroit free of charge for the game, defeated arguably the best team in the Big 10 in a 73-56 blowout. The Wildcats will now advance to the Elite Eight where they will play one seed Kansas.
“Words can’t describe it, but at the same time, we believe in ourselves and what we can do,” Andrew Lovedale said. “We are happy, but not totally content.”
The Wildcats can attribute much of their success to Stephen Curry, arguably the star of the entire tournament. In four tournament games, Curry has recorded at least 30 points and is only the fourth player in history to accomplish such a feat. Last year Curry notched 30 points in a loss to Maryland in the first round. This year he recorded 40 points against Gonzaga in the opening round game. He then recorded 30 points as the Wildcats shocked the two seed Georgetown Hoyas.
“In the NBA, I never experienced this as a player,” said Dell Curry. “I don’t think even in all my playoff games in my career that I’ve felt like this. To see your son succeed and have fun on a national stage is great.”
Curry notched 33 points and led the Wildcats in steals. Opposite of him Wisconsin senior Michael Flowers recorded 12 points and led the Badgers in Rebounds. Curry outscored the entire Badgers team by himself in the second half, 22-20.
The Wildcats success can’t be attributed entirely to Curry though. Senior Jason Richards had 11 points and 13 assists while junior Andrew Lovedale had 12 points of his own.
“Curry made some tough shots,” Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said. “But so did some of the other guys. I thought they got a lot of contributions when they needed them. And that’s how you get to keep playing in the NCAA tournament.”