For the first time in the history of the NCAA Tournament, all four #1 seeds will be punching their tickets to the Final Four. The cinderfellas, Davidson, just lost to the powerhouse school, Kansas. Bill Self has finally reached the plateau that has seemed to escape him all these years. Stephen Curry had somewhat of a sub par game (25 points is sub par by his standards) but that is definitely not the reason they lost.
Everyone I know has a few pet peeves in their lives. I have many. My new one is these so-called college basketball experts running around saying that the first game Curry doesn't score 30+ points, Davidson will lose. Well, I don't care what you say but the whole tournament has been a team effort for the Wildcats.
Exhibit A: Jason Richards. He is the floor general for this team. Richards has averaged 13 points and 9 assists in the four tournament games, which includes a 20-point effort against #2-seeded Georgetown.
Exhibit B: Andrew Lovedale. The tough Nigerian has averaged 10 points and 7 rebounds for Davidson in the tournament and has played extremely well considering his size disadvantage against teams such as Georgetown.
Exhibit C: Bryant Barr. He kept Davidson in the game today when Curry wasn't shooting well. He scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting which included three key 3-pointers.
What's my point? Stephen Curry is possibly the best player in college basketball, but he is only one man (even though he looks as if he's 14). His teammates really stepped up and the effort they put forth should not be discounted.
Next, I would like to congratulate the fabulous defense the Jayhawks played on Curry. At all times, he had a guy right on him with more on the way as soon as he started to dribble. The game-changing play had to have been their defensive stand in the last 16 seconds of the game to prevent the Wildcats from scoring. Curry couldn't get a shot off to save his life. So kudos to the Kansas team, and also to Bill Self for finally getting over the hump and punching his ticket to San Antonio.
So, yes, the Final Four may be boring to some as it features all #1 seeds, but it will be home to some great basketball. I'll probably have a blog out sometime this week regarding the four teams and their players and also my predictions for the three games.
For all the Davidson fans, there is still hope for next year. I seriously doubt Curry will forego his last two college years and enter the draft as an undersized shooting guard, so expect him back for his junior and senior years. Paulhus Gosselin will also be returning to help Curry out in the backcourt. Barr and Lovedale, two of the key players for Davidson in their tournament run, will also be back to help Davidson's campaign for the first Final Four appearance in school history. I'm sure all your brand-new fans will be rooting for you.
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