Early Games

by Jonah Keri
Fri, 21 Mar 2008 at 3:40 PM

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Jessie Sapp's going to have a lot of nightmares tomorrow.

	Mel Evans/AP Davidson's Stephen Curry during the second-half of his team's first round game. Curry led Davidson to an 82-76 victory against Gonzaga.

Assuming Georgetown beats UMBC later today, Sapp—or backcourt mates Jonathan Wallace, Austin Freeman, or another Hoya—will have to guard Davidson phenom Stephen Curry in a second-round match-up on Sunday. Given the carnage that Curry inflicted on Gonzaga today, it can't be an assignment anyone's cherishing.

Curry scored 40 points, including an amazing 30 in the second half, as Davidson rallied from 11 down to knock off Gonzaga 82-76. Curry was unconscious behind the three-point line, sticking 8 of 11 from a distance. But what made the performance by the Wildcats' little assassin was the many ways he torched the Bulldogs. Early on, Curry ran out a step ahead of Gonzaga defenders, draining long-range bombs with a sliver of daylight.

When Steven Gray and others tried overplaying him, Curry used their aggression against them, executing mini-backdoor cuts back to the three-point line, then swishing shots with his flawless catch-and-shoot motion. When Gonzaga trotted out aggressive match-up zones and other schemes to try and prevent the three, Curry would give an up-fake, then hit pull-up jumpers two steps closer. Another time, two Zags crowded him, so Curry went backdoor again, pulled up from eight feet, absorbed the contact, and hit the shot, and-one. Oh and he did it left-handed.

When an individual player gets hot in the tournament, he can carry a team beyond expectations. We've seen it with Carmelo Anthony lifting Syracuse to a surprise national title as a freshman. We've seen it with stars on mid-major teams, such as when Harold "The Show" Arceneaux almost single-handedly knocked out defending national champion North Carolina in the first round of the 1999 tournament.

Davidson has an able floor general in Jason Richards, an undersized big man in Andrew Lovedale who plays much bigger than he is, and a cast of able role players. But Curry's the man who gave Davidson its first tournament win in 39 years today. And he could be the one who gives them an even bigger win on Sunday.

Other quickie thoughts from the first set of games:

--Tennessee eventually took care of American 72-57. But the Eagles hung in the game much longer than anyone expected, at one point tying the game 40-40 in the second half. American dominated Tennessee on the offensive glass, while the Vols struggled for most of the game from beyond the arc. Tennessee's as good as any team in America when they're scoring on the break and forcing turnovers off their pressure defense. But the Vols' lack of inside beef could pose an interesting challenge against some bigger teams. A potential Elite Eight match-up with North Carolina and their trio of Tyler Hansbrough, Deon Thompson, and Alex Stepheson would present a huge test.

--Jack McClinton was every bit as good as Stephen Curry for Miami. He's also the reason the otherwise outmanned Hurricanes have a puncher's chance in any game. The junior guard scored 38 points, propelling Miami to a 78-64 over St. Mary's. No one other 'Cane even scored in double figures.

--If there's a better game in this tournament than Western Kentucky vs. Drake, I can't wait to watch it. As deadly as Drake's army of three-point bombers are, Western Kentucky absorbed every blow and came back firing. After blowing a late second-half lead and trailing in overtime, the Hilltoppers faced a one-point deficit with 5.7 seconds left. With everyone in the gym expecting Tyrone Brazelton—who already had 33 points—to take the shot, he instead dropped a pass to Ty Rogers, who drained a 25-foot rainbow at the buzzer to win it for Western Kentucky.

Buckle up folks. The Madness is here.

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