Sports

Davidson's Cinderella Run Continues

DETROIT (AP) ― Stephen Curry knocked down yet another 3, thumped his chest and pointed skyward.

Heavens yes, Davidson is marching on.

Curry scored more than 30 points for a third straight game, and the 10th-seeded Wildcats pulled off another stunner Friday night, rolling over third-seeded Wisconsin 73-56 to advance to the Midwest Regional finals.

Davidson (29-6) extended the nation's longest winning streak to 25. The Wildcats will play the winner of the Villanova-Kansas game on Sunday for a trip to the Final Four.

Yes, add another defensive powerhouse to Curry's list of victims. A week after shredding Gonzaga and Georgetown's vaunted defenses, the son of former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry dismantled the Badgers and defensive specialist Michael Flowers.

Curry outscored the Badgers all by himself in the second half, 22-20.

Wisconsin (31-5) was holding opponents to 53.9 points, best in the nation, and hadn't allowed Kansas State a single 3-point basket in the second round.

But instead of being intimidated by the big stage-not to mention the monstrous Ford Field venue-Curry and Davidson played with such ease and attitude they may as well have been in their cozy little gym back home.

And it did feel a little like home with Davidson's rowdy cheering section. The Board of Trustees popped for the trip-bus fare, tickets and a hotel room-for students who wanted to make the 11-hour ride from North Carolina, and a few hundred took them up on the offer.

The Wildcats shot 49 percent, including 12-of-24 from 3-point range. Curry finished with 33 points on 11-of-22 shooting, including six 3-pointers. Jason Richards had 11 points and 13 assists.

When the final buzzer sounded, the Davidson fans bounced up and down and a few chanted, "Rock, chalk, Jayhawk!" in reference to top-seeded Kansas. The Wildcats, meanwhile, calmly shook hands as if they expected to be here all along. And why not, when they have someone as sensational as Curry.

This marked the second time in three tournaments that a double-digit seed got this far. In 2006, 11th-seeded George Mason reached the Final Four. This is the farthest Davidson has advanced since Lefty Driesell's squad reached the regional finals in 1969, where the Wildcats lost to North Carolina.

The big, brawny Badgers were supposed to overpower Davidson, but it was Wisconsin that looked overmatched. Despite four players in double figures, the Badgers never found their rhythm offensively. And the defense that was so fearsome all year never materialized.

Time and again Wisconsin would score only to have Davidson race down the court and make a basket of its own a mere seconds later.

Still, the Badgers were within 48-45 with 13:48 to play on Marcus Landry's jumper. That's when Curry took over.

He made a 3, and Richards stole the ball on the other end. Racing upcourt, Richards found Curry camped in the corner all by himself and dished off. Joe Krabbenhoft-a member of the Big Ten's all-defensive team-sprinted toward Curry and jumped, hoping to block the shot.

But Curry calmly waited until Krabbenhoft flew by him and then, with that silky smooth shot that's becoming a signature of this year's tournament, made another 3 to put Davidson up 54-45 with 13:03 to play.

As his teammates cheered, Curry thumped his chest and pointed high. The basket gave him 23 points-twice as many as anybody else on the court-and was his fifth 3-pointer of the night.

And he wasn't done yet.

Davidson had run the shot clock almost all the way down, looking for something. Curry finally took an off-balance shot from NBA 3-point range, falling as he released the ball. No matter. It was good, just like almost everything else he did Friday night.

And a minute later, he scored on a sweet inside reverse, drawing a foul and the admiration of everybody in the arena-including LeBron James.

The NBA star had praised Curry earlier this week and, on the eve of a game against the Detroit Pistons, was parked a few rows behind the Wildcats bench with the rest of the exuberant Davidson fans.

Flowers led the Badgers with 12. Brian Butch and Jason Bohannon added 11 each.

Texas 82, Stanford 62
South Regional, Houston

Stanford's big guys were no match for the small, medium and jumbo sizes of the Texas Longhorns.

Little D.J. Augustin set the tempo, 299-pound Dexter Pittman pounded and pestered Brook Lopez and the rest of the Longhorns chipped in as Texas defeated Stanford 82-62 Friday night in an NCAA South Regional semifinal.

The victory sends the Longhorns into Sunday's regional final against the winner of the Michigan State-Memphis game.

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, punctuated by several plays that sent the heavily pro-Longhorns fans to their feet. Most were by Augustin, but Pittman also contributed by using his girth to throw Lopez off stride.

Kansas 72, Villanova 57
Midwest Regional, Detroit

The Kansas Jayhawks toyed with Villanova, throwing alley-oop passes off the blackboard 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 72-57 Friday night to earn a spot in the Midwest Regional finals.

Memphis 92, Michigan State 74
South Regional, 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 in the South Regional, a game Sunday against Texas with a trip to the Final Four on the line, though the message on this overwhelming night was clear: Don't mess with Memphis.

"Everyone picked us to lose. We were the upset special," Memphis coach John Calipari said. "That was us. We were going to get outplayed, outcoached, outskilled, outhustled, out-this, out-that, and we can't shoot free throws."

Didn't quite play out that way.

Freshman Derrick Rose will play at least one more college game after a 27-point, five-assist night that showed he's ready for the NBA. He exited early in the second half with a cut on his forehead that required medical attention, but returned to the floor with 8 ½ minutes left and started dominating again.

Meanwhile, Michigan State senior Drew Neitzel's career is over, and this was no way to end it. He was held to six points, his first of two buckets coming on a 3-pointer that clanged around the rim and fell, mercifully, with 1:47 left.

(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)