Davidson faces tough Badger ‘D’

The Badgers have the best scoring defense in the country.

DETROIT (AP) — Stephen Curry went off for 70 points — 70 points! — in the first two games of the NCAA tournament. Against two of the stingiest defensive teams in the country, no less.

Big deal. That was sooo last weekend.

Instead of kicking back and savoring his accomplishment, Curry is prepping for the toughest test of all. To keep little Davidson’s wonderful ride going, Curry is going to have to figure out a way around the Wisconsin Badgers and their relentless defense. First up tonight? Michael Flowers, who might just be playing the best defense in the country these days.

“They play long. They play physical. They play quick. But I think the most important and significant aspect of their defense is they play like a team,” Davidson coach Bob McKillop said Thursday. “If you beat one of them, which doesn’t happen often, you’re then going to have to face someone else because they really react to each other very well.

“Steph has a very big challenge in front of him. Our team has a big challenge in front of them.”

By now, most people have heard how 10th-seeded Davidson, the exclusive liberal arts school with the free laundry, knocked off Gonzaga and Georgetown to reach this weekend’s Midwest Regional semifinals. Not only were the victories the Wildcats’ first over ranked teams in more than 30 years, they put Davidson (28-6) in the round of 16 for the first time since 1969.

The folks back in Davidson, N.C., were so excited, forward Thomas Sander got a standing ovation when he was spotted pumping gas. Point guard Jason Richards got a lift to class from someone on the campus maintenance crew. And the Board of Trustees sprung for bus fare, hotel rooms and tickets for any students who wanted to go to tonight’s game.

“It’s been one of the greatest weeks of my life,” Curry said. “It’s just been crazy for us.”

But don’t think the Wildcats’ are simply the NCAA tournament’s latest warm-and-fuzzy story. They played a schedule that would make any team cringe, taking on North Carolina, Duke and UCLA. All three were losses, but the Wildcats gave the Tar Heels everything they could handle. Ditto for Duke. They hung 74 points on a Georgetown team that came into the game allowing only 57.6 points on 37 percent shooting.

Curry is the fourth-leading scorer in the nation at 25.7 points a game, and is first with 152 3-pointers. Richards is tops in the country with eight assists a game, and the Wildcats rank fifth in scoring margin (15.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4).

“We really don’t want that title of Cinderella,” Richards said. “We’re just a good basketball team making a run in the NCAA tournament.”