Sun Mar 30 10:19:49 2008

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Surprising Wildcats battle mighty Jayhawks in Elite Eight encounter

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Detroit, MI (Sports Network) - The 10th-seeded Davidson Wildcats will try to extend their remarkable run in the NCAA Tournament this evening, as they clash with the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks in the finals of the Midwest Region. The winner of this bout will move on to the Final Four next week.

The Wildcats have certainly become the Cinderella story of this year's event, as they knocked off three higher seeds en route to this Elite Eight bout. On Friday, Davidson, surprisingly, had its easiest game of the tourney, notching a 73-56 victory over third-seeded and Big Ten power Wisconsin. The victory extended the Wildcats' winning streak to a nation-best 25 games, as they advanced to their first regional finals since 1969. Davidson, which previously upended seventh-seeded Gonzaga (82-76) in the first round before pulling off a giant upset by stunning second-seeded Georgetown (74-70), hadn't won an NCAA Tournament since 1969 prior to this year's event.

As for Kansas, it has had its way in this tourney thus far, winning all three of its game comfortably. After defeating 16th-seeded Portland State (85-61) and eighth-seeded UNLV (75-56) in the first two stages of this event, the Jayhawks coasted past 12th-seeded Villanova, 72-57, in the Sweet 16 on Friday. Kansas, which has now won 10 straight decisions, is making its fifth Elite Eight appearance in the last eight seasons. The program is 12-6 all-time in this round of the tourney.

This evening's bout marks the first-ever meeting on the hardwood between Kansas and Davidson.

It was once again the Stephen Curry show, as his 33-point effort lifted the Wildcats past Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 round on Friday. Curry, who has now tallied 30 or more points in each round of this event, made 6-of-11 three- pointers and outscored Wisconsin by himself, 22-20, in the second half. Andrew Lovedale chipped in with 12 points, and Jason Richards notched a double-double with 11 points and 13 assists. Richards has provided a nice complement to Curry all season long and in this tournament. For the season, Richards is averaging 12.9 ppg and a nation-leading 8.1 apg, and in tourney play he is producing an even better 15.3 ppg and 9.0 apg. As for Curry, he has clearly been the tournament's top producer thus far, averaging a healthy 34.3 ppg on the strength of 52.8 percent shooting from long range. The son of former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry, Stephen is no stranger to putting up big numbers, posting 25.9 ppg on the season. He is also a solid defender, racking up a team-high 72 steals, including 12 in the tourney. Another player that has stepped up in this event is Lovedale, who is contributing 11.7 ppg and 7.3 rpg compared to his season averages of just 6.9 ppg and 5.4 rpg.

Kansas jumped out to a 19-8 lead and never looked back, as it cruised by Villanova in Friday's Sweet 16 matchup. The Jayhawks, who are outscoring their opponents by a national best 19.8 ppg margin, knocked down 8-of-19 three- pointers and had several acrobatic dunks in the win. For the second time in this tourney Brandon Rush led Kansas in scoring with 16 points. Russell Robinson added 15 points and five assists, while Mario Chalmers had 14 points and three steals. Chalmers leads the team in scoring in this event with 15.7 ppg and eight steals and he is also handing out 3.3 apg. For the season, Chalmers ranks third in scoring at 12.7 ppg, but he tops the roster in both assists (4.5 apg) and steals (88). Rush leads the attack with 13.1 ppg for the season and in the tourney he is turning in 15.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg. Robinson and Darrell Arthur are each averaging 11.0 ppg through the first three rounds, with Arthur netting 12.9 ppg for the season and Robinson 7.6 ppg. As a team, the Jayhawks have shot over 50 percent from the field in each of their tourney games, while holding all three of their opponents under 40 percent.