Detroit ? All that stands in the way of Kansas University making its first Final Four appearance since 2003 is Davidson College’s Stephen Curry, a baby-faced assassin who looks like a pre-teen and plays like the 17-year NBA veteran his father Dell Curry was.
Like his father before him, the son has three shooting ranges: deep, deeper, deepest. His ball fakes and accurate, high-velocity passes also turn heads.
The younger Curry, a sophomore, has been the best player in this NCAA Tournament. For his career, he averages 33.3 points in four NCAA Tournament games.
He’s a handful. So was Kevin Durant a year ago. Kansas beat Texas twice with him. So was Michael Beasley this season. KU split a pair of games with K-State.
Nothing about the way Kansas dunked its way to a 72-57 Friday night victory against Villanova in Ford Field gave a hint the Jayhawks are vulnerable to an upset. Of course, given that Davidson has won 25 games in a row, the past two against Georgetown and Wisconsin, no game the Wildcats from North Carolina win can be considered more than a mini-upset.
After running Villanova into the offseason, Kansas already was looking ahead to No. 10 seed in name only Davidson. As for looking past the only team lower than a No. 3 seed to advance to the Elite Eight, not a chance that will happen, not with the first Final Four trip for this group of players at stake.
A crowd of 57,028 watched Friday’s games. Davidson’s underdog appeal likely will motivate many observers without a horse in the race to turn against Kansas.
Again, the Jayhawks have been there, done that.
“Everybody’s going to be rooting against us,” sixth man Sherron Collins said. “But we take pride in stuff like that, and we take pride in guarding.”
Brandon Rush, in the midst of another productive NCAA Tournament, weighed in on Curry after scoring 16 points against Villanova, including a dunk he threw down after grabbing an errant lob that glanced off the glass.
“I always thought he looked like a little kid, like a 12-year-old kid,” Rush said. “And he plays like a grown man. He can get to the lane with ease, and he can get to the free-throw line, too. And (Jason) Richards (13 assists, no turnovers against Wisconsin) is a great point guard, too. We’re going to have our hands full.”
Collins said the players watched a little of Davidson’s rout of Wisconsin until coach Bill Self killed the televisions to ensure the focus remained on the game at hand.
“He’s averaging something like 30 in the tournament,” Collins said of Curry. “We’ve got to try to limit that 30 to 20 or 15 and not let the other guys around him get theirs.”
Villanova doesn’t have a Curry-caliber talent, but advanced to the Sweet 16 based largely on its talented backcourt, led by Scottie Reynolds. He had trouble getting untracked against Kansas, scored 11 points and made four of 13 shots.
“Our whole goal was to cut off the head by taking Scottie Reynolds out of the game,” Rush said. “Russell (Robinson) did a great job of that.”
A tougher head awaits.