Coach: Bo Ryan, seven years at school, seven years in NCAA
Tournament.
How they got here: Automatic bid (Big Ten tournament champion); Midwest first round: def. No. 14 seed CS Fullerton
71-56; Midwest second round: def. No. 11 seed Kansas State
72-55.
They'll keep winning if: Wisconsin has surrendered 55.5 points in two NCAA Tournament
games by making opponents battle for open shots. The Badgers play suffocating defense and avoid turnovers.
Translation: Bo Ryan's team won't beat itself. Wisconsin doesn't put a lot of points on the board and is not built for
comebacks. Davidson, averaging 78 points in the tournament, is propelled by sophomore Stephen Curry. He scored
25 second-half points in the upset of Georgetown and has 70 points in the first two rounds. Michael Flowers will stick
Curry but the Badgers preach and execute team defense. Ryan is a stickler for the fundamentals, and he relies on a
group of little-thing guys to do the dirty work that makes his team successful. First-round foe Cal State Fullerton was
carried by Josh Akognon's 31-point effort and Beasley had 23, but Wisconsin didn't allow their teammates much else
to make the Sweet 16.
Memorable moment: The clock was winding down at Assembly Hall in Bloomington Feb. 13,
where the Hoosiers held a 66-65 lead over the Badgers with first place in the Big Ten on the line. With five seconds
left, center Brian Butch fired a 24-foot 3-pointer for the win, and his prayer was answered as his bank-shot dropped
through the bucket. IU's desperation trey went long, giving Wisconsin the victory.
Trevon Hughes |
Go-to guys: The Badgers' balance makes their offense difficult to defend, but Trevon Hughes is
the guy who wants the ball with the clock winding down. He can be a bit streaky and isn't blessed with great range,
but he has the quickness to create his own shot off the dribble and knows how to get to the free-throw line. Michael
Flowers hit a game-winner against Texas.
Strengths: Balance on offense is critical, and Wisconsin plays well as a team. The Badgers
are experienced and unselfish, and few teams play better help defense. Brian Butch is a quality big man, and Michael
Flowers and Hughes both know how to get to the basket. UW also does a good job when it comes to shot selection,
patiently moving the ball until someone has an open shot. The Badgers are solid from the free-throw line, which is
critical in tight games.
Weaknesses: The Badgers aren't the most athletic bunch in college basketball, and offensive
brownouts are occasionally a problem. Wisconsin never cracked the 90-point mark during the season, and the
Badgers scored more than 75 points just seven times in the regular season. If UW is pushed into an up-tempo game,
the Badgers won't have the horses to respond. Wisconsin can hold its own on the boards vs. most opponents, but
outside of Butch is just an average rebounding team.
Coach: Bob McKillop, 19th year at school, fifth year in NCAA Tournament.
How they got here: Automatic bid (Southern Conference tournament champion); Midwest first round: rallied past No. 7 seed Gonzaga 82-76; Midwest
second round: overcame 16-point deficit to defeat No.
2 seed Georgetown 74-70; Midwest semifinals: def. No. 3 seed Wisconsin
73-56.
They'll keep winning if: Stephen Curry, who has scored 103 points (40 points vs. Gonzaga, 30 vs. Georgetown, 33 vs.
Wisconsin) through three rounds, will need to keeping scorching the nets. Even when his shot isn't falling, Curry keeps firing until it does. He
managed just 10 points in the first half vs. Gonzaga, five in the first half vs. Georgetown and 11 first-half points vs. Wisconsin. No other player
for the Wildcats is averaging more than 12.5 points. Amidst the Curry adulation, it's easy to overlook the job point guard Jason Richards has
done, but he has done a terrific job of setting the tempo and driving the offense. Role players such as Andrew Lovedale have quietly gone
about their business and taken care of the dirty work. Underrated is Davidson's pesky on-ball defense. The Wildcats play passing lanes
extremely well and can deny the entry pass without front-side help, leading to steals against Georgetown and Wisconsin. Worth noting, KU
had 19 turnovers in the waltz against Villanova.Andrew Lovedale handled Wisconsin's beef and earlier was up to the challenge of 7-footer
Roy Hibbert and Georgetown. A major area of concern is that the Wildcats aren't getting much of anything from their bench. It hasn't
managed to hurt them thus far, but they haven't faced a team in the tournament yet with as much depth and athleticism as the Jayhawks.
Memorable moment: Davidson has won 25 consecutive games since a 66-65 loss at N.C. State on Dec. 21. They took
down two tournament-tested teams in the first two rounds, staging big rallies on both occasions with Stephen Curry as the catalyst. Curry
had 30 second-half points (40 total) in helping Davidson erase an 11-point deficit vs. Gonzaga for its first tournament win since 1969. The
Wildcats advanced to the Sweet 16 via 25 second-half points (30 total) from Curry, rallying from 16 points down vs. Big East giant
Georgetown.
Stephen Curry |
Go-to guys: ACC programs didn't think he was good enough. But all guard Stephen Curry has done so far is become the
Southern Conference player of the year. Curry, the son of former NBA standout Dell Curry, has been one of the primary reasons for
Davidson's third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. In the last 37 NCAA Tournaments, only one player has delivered a higher scoring
average (minimum three games played) than Curry -- Bo Kimble averaged 35.8 points for 11th-seeded Loyola Marymount in 1990, when
LMU missed the Final Four by one victory. Curry leads the SoCon in scoring and ranks fifth nationally with 25.3 points per game. Curry, the
five-time SoCon Player of the Week, also ranks eighth nationally in free-throw percentage (.894) and third in both 3-pointers made (125) and
3-pointers per game (4.3). Curry doesn't do this all by himself. His backcourt mate, first-team All-SoCon point guard Jason Richards, scores
13.0 points per game but he also leads the nation with an impressive 8.0 assists per game. Forward Andrew Lovedale, a 6-8, 215-pound
junior, has started 17 of the past 18 games and the Wildcats have won all 17 games. Senior forward Boris Meno brings 7.7 points and 6.0
rebounds per game off the bench.
Strengths: Any team with good guards has a chance to do some damage in the tournament -- the Wildcats have them.
The Wildcats are capable of holding their own inside and getting production off the bench.
Weaknesses: If Curry is off, it's easier to isolate on Richards and slow his penetration. If an opponent can at least
contain Curry and Richards to some extent, who can carry the Wildcats?
