Earlier this season, John Thompson III was asked by a reporter what he considered his three most memorable wins of his tenure at Georgetown to date. The 2007 regional final win over UNC was cited, as was the Big East title win over Pitt. The third game surprised the reporter, though.
Thompson cited his first road win of his Georgetown career, traveling to Davidson in the third game of the 2004-05 season. And while the senior classes of these respective schools are a combined 198-66 in games over their four years, one class ends today, and one moves on.
Davidson College has long been a sentimental favorite among North Carolina college fans, so they are expected to earn its share of supporters among the Tar Heel fans waiting for its second round game later in the day. Never afraid to play the larger schools in the state, the Wildcats are a well coached and efficient team: in losses to three of the state's ACC schools, a one point loss to NC State, four to UNC, and six to Duke emphasize that this is more than a one man team.
That's not to underestimate the work of Stephen Curry in piloting the Wildcats to the verge of its first regionals appearance in 39 years. Curry is on his way to obliterating the Davidson record books, on pace for a 3,000 point career, and, by comparison, has scored more in his first two seasons than Allen Iverson did a decade ago at Georgetown. His eight threes and 40 points piloted the Wildcats past Gonzaga begs two questions: can he do it against the nation's top ranked defense, and if not, who else will step up to do so?
Davidson has been very good for a number of years under Bob McKillop, who has turned down his share of offers to remain in the still quiet town on the edge of the Charlotte sprawl. Curry's scoring elevated the Wildcats in 2007-08 to a perfect 20-0 Southern Conference record en route to conference tournament wins by 33, 30, and 16 points, respectively.
Fans need to pay attention to Curry, but also to point guard Jason Richards (12.7 ppg), averaging 35 minutes a game with a 43% shooting average. He is not an active outside shooter (about four a game) but his seven assists a game drive the ability for Curry and others to get points on the board.
With so much production from the guards, less attention is paid to a capable Davidson front line. Like UMBC, Davidson is small, but they carry more bulk and can make things difficult if georgetown gets lazy inside. Small forward Max Paulhus-Gosselin may not be a major factor, but a pair of 6-8 frontmen, Thomas Sander (7.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg), and Andrew Lovedale (6.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg) may be. Sander had an off game against Gonzaga but Lovedale pulled down 13 rebounds in the win.
Like any "underdog" game, Georgetown needs to keep a safe distance ahead by playing to it sd strengths--defense, rebounding, and eliminating second chance opportunities. Other keys to the game?
Keys to the game:
1. The Second Option: Georgetown will try to contain Curry, but also to contain DC's next option should Curry not be productive. This could be Lovedale. Conversely, Davidson will look to work Roy Hibbert inside and DaJuan Summers must step up his offensive production at this stage of the season.
2. Rebounds: This may be the last game this season where Georgetown will own a significant height advantage--use it.
3. Points off Turnovers:Davidson may try to force Georgetown into some of the mistakes that hurt in in mid-February, particularly in cross-court passes. The Wildcats forced Gonzaga into 19 turnovers and Georgetown cannot afford to be as generous.
For Davidson to win, Curry goes for 28 or more, the Wildcats hit 12 threes, and shuts down Roy Hibbert via fouls or a stout defense. Georgetown's keys to victory remain with its senior strength on offense and a strong defensive effort by Jessie Sapp. No Georgetown senior class has ever been th three straight regionals, and Sunday offers a good chance to make some history in this regard.