A couple of extra pictures

From the Missouri game:
From the Duke game:

Some SoCon teams beating major conference teams

Furman beat Vanderbilt in Nashville the other night. Wofford beat Cincinnati at Cincy. Davidson beat UIC.

Congrats to those teams! Those types of wins will only help the entire conference's RPI rating. I'm not going to dream that the SoCon will possibly get 2 teams into the NCAA Tournament, but a better overall RPI is a good way to help get that done.

Click here for updated conference RPI ratings.

Curry: Socon Player of Week

Curry Named SoCon Men’s Basketball Player of the Week

DAVIDSON, N.C. — Freshman Stephen Curry of the Davidson men’s basketball team has been named the Southern Conference Player of the Week for the week ending Nov. 20 as announced by the league office Wednesday morning.

NOTE: Sorry I missed this before!

Elon game on SoCon TV

Can't make it to the game? Catch it on the internet.

Click here to go to SoCon TV.

Davidson to open conference play Friday

Elon was a surprise contender last year, and caught a bunch of teams off guard. Davidson beat Elon handily last year, 79-61, in the only meeting between the two teams.

Elon started off this year poorly, with a 1-4 record. However, they have lost to schools from much bigger conferences. They lost to Georgia Tech (83-49), Vanderbilt (81-70), Virginia Commonwealth (91-49) and Wake Forest (73-48). Basically, they were destroyed by all of these teams, except for maybe Vanderbilt.....but Vaderbilt lost to Furman, so Vandy is down right now.

Tomorrow night at Belk Arena, we'll see what Elon looks like this year for SoCon play.

Click here for Elon Basketball official site.

Click here for article from Davidson Basketball official site.

GAME NOTES: Click here.

Lack of posts this past week

Sorry for the lack of posts over the past 7 days or so. I got a little caught up with the big win that South Carolina had over Clemson on Saturday......one of the best games I've ever seen in person.

Thanks for missing that field goal, Jad Dean!

How 'Bout Those Gamecocks!!

Cats fall to Duke

McRoberts Leads No. 9 Blue Devils to 75-47 Win Over Davidson

DURHAM, N.C. — Sophomore Josh McRoberts led four players in double figures with 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds to pace the No. 9 Duke Blue Devils to a 75-47 victory over Davidson at Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday evening. With the win Duke improves to 5-1 on the season, while the Wildcats fall to 4-3.

Box Score

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McRoberts, Scheyer Lead Duke Past Davidson, 75-47

DURHAM, N.C. - Josh McRoberts and Jon Scheyer scored 14 points apiece and Duke held Davidson to 28.6 percent field goal shooting as the Blue Devils defeated the Wildcats, 75-47, in men’s basketball action on Saturday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

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Note:
Incidentally, the game was supposed to be on FSN South. Instead, it was pre-empted by a football game between two west coast teams that probably nobody cares about around here....at least I didn't care about them. I was personally very disappointed that the Davidson game was not on.

Big Willie gets write-up on Quebec website

WILL THRILLS IN D-I DEBUT

William Archambault showed an exciting taste of what's to come, scoring 13 points, grabbing five rebounds and sinking three 3-pointers in his exhibition debut for Davidson.

Click here for entire article

This comes from qhoops.net, which is a website concentrating on basketball in Quebec.

From their site: "QHoops.net is Quebec's first and only online, independent basketball publication! The aim of QHoops.net is to aid in elevating Quebec basketball to the status it deserves on the world scene."

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wildcats face Duke on Saturday night @ 7 pm

Davidson will travel to Durham to face the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. in front of the Cameron Crazies.

The Blue Devils are coming off a loss to Marquette Tuesday night in the CBE Classic.

Duke is without Shelden Williams and sharpshooter J.J. Reddick this year, but they will obviously be strong, as always. As the cliche goes, Duke doesn't rebuild, they reload.

It will be interesting to see how this young team handles the trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium. They may surprise Coach K and his crew....you never know. We have played them tough there a few times before, so why not again this year?

PROGRAMMING NOTE: This game will be on FSN television (that's Fox Sports Network). Around here it's FSN South, formerly Sports South.

Cats dominate Colby

From Davidson website:

Three-Point Records Fall in Wildcats' 99-69 Victory Over Colby

DAVIDSON, N.C. — Davidson tied or broke four school records, and Jason Richards set new career highs with 20 points and 16 assists to lead the Wildcats to a 99-69 victory over Colby College in men’s basketball action Wednesday evening at Belk Arena. The win lifts Davidson to 4-2 on the campaign, while Colby falls to 1-2.

Click here for entire article.

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From Colby website:

Division I team tops Colby men's basketball

DAVIDSON, N.C. --- The Colby College men's basketball team held NCAA Division I Davidson College to just 37 points at halftime before the Wildcats pulled away in the second half for a 99-69 victory on Tuesday night before 2,237 fans at John Belk Arena.

Davidson (4-2) made the NCAA Division I Tournament last year and gave Ohio State a scare in the opening round before losing. The Wildcats had just played and lost at the University of Missouri on Sunday and will play at Duke University this Saturday.

Click here for entire article.

Davidson faces Colby tonight at Belk Arena

Colby is a Division 3 school. Cats should roll easily. Not much to post on this one. No disrespect meant to Colby....it just is what it is.

Game Notes: click here

Photos from the Davidson/Missouri game

From ESPN.com (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)




Mizzou's photo gallery: click here

Wildcats fall to Missouri, 81-75

From Davidson website:

Mizzou Avoids Third Straight Loss to Wildcats with 81-75 Win

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Matt Lawrence scored a game-high 22 points and the Missouri Tigers forced 28 turnovers as they held off Davidson 81-75 in men’s basketball action Sunday afternoon at Mizzou Arena. The victory over the Wildcats was Missouri’s first in three tries as its remains unbeaten improving to 5-0 overall. Davidson falls to 3-2 on the young season.

Click here for entire article.

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From Mizzou website:

Tigers Dump Davidson, 81-75

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Matt Lawrence scored 22 points, including six 3-pointers, as Missouri blew an early 12-point lead and had to come from behind to beat Davidson 81-75 Sunday.

The Tigers have lost to Davidson (3-2) in the teams' two previous outings, and the win gave Missouri its first 5-0 start in four seasons.

Click here for entire article.

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Article from the Kansas City Star:

Davidson coach impressed with Tigers

COLUMBIA Davidson coach Bob McKillop probably didn’t want to be drawn into comparing Mike Anderson’s first Missouri basketball team with Quin Snyder’s last two. McKillop and Snyder’s friendship was the main reason the Wildcats and Tigers had played each other three years running.

But at the end of Missouri’s 81-75 defeat of Davidson on Sunday afternoon — a victory that Snyder’s Tigers couldn’t pull off in the previous two seasons — McKillop had to state what he saw as the obvious difference.

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Article from Columbia Daily Tribune

Tigers win fight to the finish

This one was a fight.

True, the Missouri basketball team never trailed Davidson by more than five points yesterday afternoon, but the Tigers couldn’t put their opponent away with the clocking ticking toward five minutes remaining at Mizzou Arena.

Wildcats to face Missouri on Sunday

I'm out of town this weekend, so I won't be posting until game time on Sunday night.

Several things to remember:

Wildcats going for 3 in a row against Missouri. This would be a huge win. I really think we have a good shot at this one, with the way the team is playing better than expected.

Click here for the Missouri Basketball official website.

Click here for the Missouri message board. There's already a thread entitled "Davidson Curse Dies Sunday!!!". We'll see about that. You can go in and search for the word "Davidson", and it will pull up all posts about us.

You can watch the game over the internet through the Missouri All Access website for $6.95. Click here to go to the All Access website.

Man, I hope we beat them again. Wouldn't that just be fun?!

Davidson GAME NOTES: Click here.

Here's a good post from the message board giving us props:

"Mizzou hasn't beaten Davidson the last two years .... until they do that, then Davidson is still the biggest challenge on their schedule (until the Arkansas game). And for the record, yes, Davidson did lose some off their team from last year, but they also bring back Meno and Sander, who were both great against the Tigers last year. And they added the conference's preseason newcomer of the year in Curry. Curry is averaging around 20 to start the year. To think Davidson will be a cakewalk is foolish. How long have you been a Tiger fan? You should know better than to count your chickens before they hatch."

Have a great weekend, and watch the Cats on the net Sunday night!

Archambault needs a nickname

The name "Archambault" is just way too difficult to type over and over for the next four years. This guy is in dire need of a nickname. Please come up with a good nickname for him....make my blogging life easier.

Any ideas?

Missouri up next: watch game via the internet

The Missouri game will be televised over the internet through the Missouri official website. You have to sign up and join the Mizzou All-Access website, but it's only $6.95 for a month subscription, and you get to watch the Davidson game from the comfort of your own computer chair. Not a bad price to pay, in my opinion, if you want to see the game.

Click here to go to Mizzou All-Access. Follow the prompts to join, then surf to basketball and click on the "watch" icon next to the Davidson Wildcat icon. It's pretty self-explanatory.

Won't you kick yourself after the game when the Wildcats make it 3 in a row against Mizzou, and you didn't see it because you didn't want to spend $6.95? You'd spend more on that going to see them play at Davidson. Hey, I'm just saying.....

ESPN.com - AP article

(Not a particularly exciting write-up...about what you would expect.)

Davidson 100, Illinois-Chicago 89

DAVIDSON, N.C. (AP) -- Stephen Curry's game-high 27 points and nine rebounds helped push Davidson past Illinois-Chicago 100-89 on Wednesday to win its 15th-straight home opener.

Davidson Basketball Blog passes 10,000 hits

At some point last night or this morning, this website passed the 10,000 hit mark since starting this little project on January 12, 2006. I appreciate all of you that participate with comments (we need more comments, though), as well as those that just come here to check out the links and posts. I'm still enjoying this, so I'm going to keep going with it. If you have any ideas, links or articles of your own you would like to have posted, email me at davidsonbasketball94@yahoo.com.

Newspaper: Charlotte Observer article

Curry on target in Wildcats' win
KEVIN CARY

DAVIDSON - After Davidson's 100-89 win against Illinois-Chicago, coach Bob McKillop said freshman Stephen Curry has a target on his back.

The way the Davidson guard and the rest of his teammates shot in the second half, that target will get a lot bigger.

Curry made nine of 10 shots and scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half to lead the Wildcats past the Flames. The son of former Charlotte Hornet Dell Curry, he led a charge that saw the Wildcats sink 70 percent of their shots in the second half and score 61 points.

No one expected that kind of offense from Davidson before the season.

The Wildcats graduated seven seniors and had only 18 points of offense returning. But three key returnees and two freshmen made the Wildcats sizzle in the second half.

Davidson made eight of 10 3-point shots after halftime and once Curry started cooking, the Flames couldn't keep up. He was 2-of-9 in the first half, but a 3-pointer along the left baseline five minutes into the second half restored his confidence.

He sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key with eight minutes left to give Davidson (3-1) a 79-69 lead. He happily bounced up and down after that shot, then slid along the baseline after swishing another 3 from the right corner on Davidson's next possession.

"These tapes of Stephen are going to go around the country," McKillop said. "Everyone is going to know about him. But he has the toughness to respond to that."

The other Wildcats also got hot. Thomas Sander hit three 3-pointers, matching his career total entering the game. Point guard Jason Richards (nine assists) penetrated and found open players such as Boris Meno (17 points) and freshman William Archambault (19).

Archambault hit four 3-pointers, including a 25-footer for a 93-78 lead with four minutes left.
"We have this game in practice called `bolts of lightning,' " Archambault said. "You get hot and you keep shooting it. Coach said he was going to kill me if I didn't make that shot, but hey, I made it."

So did everyone else on the Wildcats.

Davidson shot 58 percent and made 12 3-pointers, including three by Curry. He also had nine rebounds and four assists, but his second half shooting was something he said his dad could be proud of.

"He's probably wondering why I didn't do it in the first half," Curry said. "But I just got a lot of confidence in the second half. You just feed off of that."

Davidson beats UIC: articles

From the UIC official website:

Men's Basketball Falls At Davidson, 100-89

Davidson, N.C. - Despite five players scoring in double figures, the UIC men's basketball team was unable to keep pace with a red-hot Davidson squad on Wednesday night as the Wildcats raced to a 100-89 victory at John Belk Arena.

Davidson shot 58 percent from the field in the game, including a blistering 70 percent (21-for-30 FG) clip in the second half. Freshman Stephen Curry paced the Wildcats (3-1) with a game-high 27 points, 23 of which came in the final stanza. He also added nine rebounds and four assists in the win.

Click here for entire article.

Click here for box score.

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From Davidson official website:

White-Hot Shooting in Second Half Lifts 'Cats to 100-89 Victory

DAVIDSON, N.C — Stephen Curry scored 23 second-half points and finished with a game-high 27 to lead four Davidson players in double figures as the Wildcats opened their home slate with a 100-89 victory over Illinois-Chicago Wednesday evening. The 15th straight home-opening win improves Davidson to 3-1 on the young season while the Flames drop to 1-1 overall.

A freshman from nearby Charlotte, N.C., Curry hit 11-of-19 shots from the floor including three from downtown to score in double digits for the fourth consecutive game to start the season. He also led both clubs with nine boards, matching his previous season high that he set against the Michigan Wolverines.

Davidson’s Thomas Sander reached the 20-point mark for the second straight outing with 23. The junior tri-captain set a new career-best with three baskets from downtown and turned in a solid performance on the glass with eight boards.

Click here for entire article.

Click here for box score.

They're not happy on the UIC message board

Click here to read the Davidson game thread.

Here are a few samples:

Regarding Kilgo:
"I'm listening to the Davidson broadcast. This guy is a silly hillbilly!"
"this guy is killing me with 'Illinois-Chicago'. Has he not seen the Flames on ESPN at all or does he not even notice the 'UIC' on the team uniforms?"

The blog got a shout-out:
"finally found the link through Davidson's blog homepage, I guess they took exception to us not believe that Davidson is a good team."
Yep, you are right about that! (I'd say they know better now.)

Regarding Davidson's shooting:
"hmmm....UIC giving up wide open 3s each time down the court....sounds like we haven't learned a thing over the past few years..."
"seems like they have an answer for every big shot we make.....after every three that they come right down and nail another huge shot"

On Thomas Sander:
"No one can stop this Thomas Sander."
(They used to say that about Ian, too.)

Regarding their center:
"For the love of all that's holy, can anyone explain why Vandermeer, our 7-foot center known for defense, just shot a 3-pointer?... "

Getting respect:
"Davidson is a quality team and a tough place to play."

On our freshmen:
"Two freshman lit us up. Makes me think that Davidson is doing something right, two great young guys on their team."

And last, but not least....the token, post-loss rant:
"We gave up 100 points....that is freaking pathetic. We lost to a Davidson team that lost a lot of players to graduation...we end up losing to a bunch of freshmen by more than UWM lost at Michigan tonight....congrats Jimmy and Co. for once again making the HL and UIC look like trash."

Davidson beats Illinois-Chicago, 100-89

First Half passing thoughts:

The streaming video on SoCon TV is OK, but not great. It's better than nothing, but the audio feed is horrible....almost unbearable....too much crackling and popping. Maybe they will get it right for the next game. Anyway, I tried muting the audio feed and playing the streaming radio broadcast separately, but there was about a 10 second delay, so it was pointless.

Theme for the Widcats in the first half: turnover. The ball was all over the place, it seemed.

Curry's shot is off. Sander is tough as always.....and hitting 3-pointers?? (When did that start happening?) Sander left holding his head...worried about the concussion? I'm liking Will Archambault more and more....he seems like a player; hitting some good shots. Boris had a nice block on that attempted dunk, but doesn't need to shoot that 3...keep it inside the arc, Boris. UIC hitting 3 pointers like crazy, it seems. Had a good lead 30-22, but let it slip away. This group is clearly still trying to figure out just what this is all about, but that's to be expected this early in the season with two freshman playing so much.

Tied at half. I'll take it.


Second half passing thoughts:

Another Sander 3 pointer? When did Thomas Sander turn into Larry Bird? Another Boris block....Curry gets his shot going, and going. Mayo for UIC will shoot from anywhere...and hit it. Archambault not afraid to match Mayo's 3. Curry needs to hit his layups. Archambault needs a nickname, because I can't type that name over and over for the next 4 years. UIC hits yet another 3 from way behind the line....Archambault comes right back and fires another 3 at them. That Mayo guy is shooting from 90 feet, it seems. Curry really getting it going from outside. UIC won't go away.....13 point lead cut to 8 real fast. Boris HITS a 3? OK, I guess I stand corrected on my first half comment Boris staying inside the arc. Archambault hits from seeminly 30 feet....still liking that guy more and more. The Cats are going to probably eclipse 100 points against a decent D-1 team....and need to in order to keep the lead....UIC is scoring in a ton, too. Cats playing sloppy down the stretch....sign of a young team that hasn't played together much. Mayo continues to amaze me....hitting from 30 feet. Curry hits again. Wildcats win 100-89.

Post game thoughts:

When was the last time we gave up 89 points to a D-1 school and won? On the flip side, when was the last time we scored 100, and only won by 11? Good win for Davidson. UIC is tough.

Thomas Sander is the heart and soul of the team...he is really stepping up this year with his scoring. Along with Sander, the freshmen are turning out to do a great job filling in the gaps for the 7 seniors we lost from last year. Is Steph Curry an early leader in the SoCon Freshman of the Year race? Could be, but let's not get ahead of things.....long way to go. Archambault is right there with him. I have a feeeling that Barr will be making some much needed contributions as well. Overall things are looking much better than I had anticipated for this year, or at least for this early in the year. McKillop is obviously coaching his tail off, and has done a great job of recruiting talent to come in this year.

On the negative side, this young team is going to have some let-downs, most likely. As young as they are, and as sloppy as they can get at times....it's going to happen. However, once they have the season to get more and more familiar with one another, they could be very dangerous by SoCon Tournament time.

Click here for stats.

Reminder: UIC game on SoCon TV tonight

Click here to go to SoCon TV.

Click here to read more about it on the Davidson website.

Scroll down to read my other post about this, or just click here.

What they are saying on the UIC message board

Just out of curiosity, I went to the UIC message board. Their board does not seem to be too active, but I could be wrong. There are only two total posts that even mention Davidson. They don't seem to be taking Davidson very seriously, and not giving our team much credit. That is just fine with me. (One guy said last year's Davidson team was decent.....DECENT. Granted, they beat us last year when we apparently played poorly, but never mind the SoCon Championship and NCAA Tournament....and I digress.)

Here are the posts:

Post #1
"What are the men's chances against Davidson? The Wildcats are always so up-and-down, they could be flat as day-old soda, or sharp as a tack. Given the way we walked all over St. Edwards, I don't know that UIC is prepared for Davidson's knack for making every game a close one. Also, since Ivanov went out with the injury the other day early, UIC didn't face the kind of perimeter attack they will probably see at Davidson. I'm expecting them to call on Othyus again to bail them out when it gets tough (like they did against Lewis in the preseason)."
-Posted by Mcflamey

Post #2
"Hopefully, Jimmy remembers how Davidson played us last year. Davidson was decent last year...hard to believe they'll be better this year, but who knows. All I know is that they sprinted non-stop and were quite sloppy, but whether we made a basket or missed, they were immediately running down the floor on a break. UIC played horrible defense last year against Davidson and let them do whatever they wanted with the ball.

"I think it's a good test for us on the road so early. They may be up and down but that is the definition of UIC basketball over the past few years...you just never know what you're going to get. I think we can win, but if we repeat last year's defensive performance against them, then we will lose...plain and simple. And we need to be beating teams like this on the road. There have been some decent wins in the HL so far, as rambler63 pointed out...so we need to play our part as well...no more blowouts on the road to teams from smaller conferences."
-Posted by Big D

Click here to view the thread.

Davidson to host Illinois-Chicago Wednesday

From the official UIC website:

Men's Basketball Travels To Meet Davidson On Wednesday Night
Chicago, Ill. - The UIC men's basketball team opens a five-game swing away from the friendly confines of the UIC Pavilion on Wednesday night when they travel to meet Davidson at 6 p.m. CST. The game can be heard on ESPN Radio 1000 AM in its entirety beginning at 7 p.m.

The Flames enter the game 1-0 on the year following Saturday's 75-60 win over St. Edward's. Junior Othyus Jeffers paced UIC past the Hilltoppers with a career-high 24 points and five steals, while adding eight rebounds and a pair of assists.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, are coming off a strong showing at the John Thompson Heritage Challenge hosted by Michigan over the weekend. Davidson went 2-1 at the event with wins over Eastern Michigan and Central Connecticut State, with its lone loss coming at the hands of the host Wolverines.

Freshman Stephen Curry led the Wildcats' attack in the tournament, averaging 21.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

UIC is 1-0 all-time against Davidson with that lone victory coming in a 76-67 triumph last season at the UIC Pavilion.

Note:
Click here to read the UIC Basketball message board.

Click here to read a season preview of the UIC team.

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From the official Davidson website:

Wildcats Look for 15th Straight Home Opening Win Wednesday vs. UIC

DAVIDSON, N.C — After winning two of three at the John Thompson Foundation Challenge to begin the 2006-07 campaign, Bob McKillop and his Davidson Wildcats will entertain Illinois-Chicago in their home opener Wednesday evening at 7 p.m.

At the three-game event in Ann Arbor, Mich., Davidson recorded a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Eastern Michigan on Friday, then fell to host Michigan, 78-68, before cruising to a 91-64 win against Central Connecticut State in the final contest Sunday.

Freshman Stephen Curry led the way offensively for the Wildcats with an average of 21.0 points per game, earning JTFC All-Challenge honors. Against the Wolverines on Saturday, the native of Charlotte, N.C., poured in 32 points and grabbed a team-best nine boards.

Click here to read entire article.

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Want to listen to the game?
Click here to listen to the Davidson radio broadcast.
Click here to listen to the UIC radio broadcast.

Game Notes:
Click here for Davidson's game notes (not available yet).
Click here for UIC's game notes

Watch all home games via the internet

You can subscribe to SoCon TV and watch all men's and women's Davidson home games (along with a bunch of other SoCon stuff). I just signed up, so I can see as many games as I can. It costs $44.95 for the academic year, or you may pay $5.95 per game, if you prefer. I just went ahead and got the whole package so I won't have to mess with paying each time.

Click here to go to SoCon TV.

UPDATE: I'm not 100% sure about how good the resolution will be for the streaming video. I watched a clip from one of the tournament games from last season, and the resolution was not all that great. It was, however, good enough to watch and tell what is happening....it's just not like actual TV. Part of the problem had to do with the lighting in the building. Hopefully the lighting in Belk Arena will be better, so that we can more clearly see everything. I'd give the video feed that I saw a C+.

Fox Sports - Davidson season preview

Davidson: Getting Inside
from foxsports.com

Coming off an impressive 20-win season that including the SoCon tournament championship and an invite to the NCAA Tournament, Davidson returns, well, not much.

However, by no means is this a rebuilding year for the Wildcats. Let's call it more of a transition season. Davidson should still be competitive, and come conference play, after the team has time to mesh, it will win its share of SoCon games.

"We have a new cast of players and not great experience," Davidson coach Bob McKillop said. "We look forward to them getting playing experience, gaining confidence and becoming a cohesive group."

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Like always, despite being vastly inexperienced, Davidson will play one of the toughest schedules of any mid-major team, including road games at Missouri and Duke.

"There are some talented and experienced teams in the league," McKillop said. "I would think that we lost more than any other team in the conference. Last year, we were probably the most experienced team in the conference, and this year we're more in the middle of the pack in that category."

Davidson won't be able to compete with the College of Charleston for the South Division title, but a strong middle-of-the-pack, around-.500 conference finish is more than plausible. Next season, though, watch out.

Click here to read the entire article.


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Editorial comment:

"Davidson won't be able to compete with the College of Charleston for the South Division title, but a strong middle-of-the-pack, around-.500 conference finish is more than plausible."

How's that for bulletin board material? I think McKillop's bunch just might prove this guy wrong.

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Team Report: Roster Report

SCOUTING THE NEWCOMERS: Davidson fans might need a program the first few games this season to match the new faces with their uniform number.

The No. 1 new face to watch is a familiar name, at least to basketball fans, and that's Stephen Curry, the son of former NBA veteran Dell Curry.

A 6-0 guard from Charlotte Christian, Curry can score, rebound, pass and play defense. Don't be surprised if he starts right away.

"Stephen has a great feel for the game, excellent natural instincts," coach Bob McKillop said. "When you combine his skills and athleticism with an exceptionally high basketball IQ and excellent toughness, you get a rare talent. It's not often that you see a freshman with all those traits, and he's also hungry to be an excellent player."

Other newcomers who'll be playing from the get-go include 6-4 wing Bryant Barr, a long-range specialist from Maine, and 6-6 William Archambault from Canada.

Click here for entire article.

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Team Report: Notes and Quotes

STRENGTHS: First off, it's Davidson, and the program itself is a huge strength. While the roster is barren in terms of leadership and seniors, the players know that the program is an established winner......

Click here for entire article.

Tommy Amaker comments on Curry

“Well obviously that was an outstanding performance by the kid Curry," said Amaker. "He was tough to handle. He got his rhythm going early. He is a big time scorer and we knew that, and we still could not contain him. I thought he did so many things for them offensively and he stretched us at times. We had two people looking at him and someone else would pop open. He is a fine basketball player.”
-Tommy Amaker, Michigan Head Coach

From article: Michigan Makes Adjustments; Downs Davidson

Looking back at the weekend's 3 games

Full stats for the weekend for all four teams: click here
Discuss this weekend's games: DavidsonCats.com

Note: I was not in attendance for these 3 games, so my following thoughts are simply based on what I have been able to read about the weekend and heard on the radio broadcast on Sunday.

EARLY ASSESSMENT OF THE TEAM

Expectations heading into the weekend: moderate
Let's face it...we lost most of our scoring and the core of our team from last year. We're not picked to do much, and most fans probably expect this to be a rebuilding year. That's a great way to set the stage for this year's team......no pressure.

News flash: These guys can play.

Prior to these three games, I figured this team was going to be extremely young, and would probably struggle to find itself early in the year. Last year - since we had Brendan, Ian, and company - none of the current players had the opportunity to really carry the team. Therefore, I did not know exactly what to expect from these guys. About the only things that I knew were that (1) Sander is a tough guy and would do good things, (2) that Boris would do well, (3) that Richardson would be solid, and (4) that Lovedale would begin to emerge. We obviously all knew that McKillop would provide great leadership for the team (that goes without saying). Other than that, I had no clue what this team would do. I imagine that I am not alone in this.

With last year's group, I would not have been at all surprised to have won all three games (Michigan included in that). With this year's group of so many unknown and unproven players, going into the weekend, I did not expect to beat Michigan. I also didn't really know much of anything about Eastern Michigan and Central Connecticut State. I just really had no idea what to expect.

Results: Excellent
Beginning the season with a win against EMU was encouraging. While it's not a Big 10 school, it is a large state university with almost 24,000 students. EMU may not be a great team, but after losing 7 seniors,our team is almost starting over (at least it feels that way). I'd chalk that up as a very good win.

Losing to Michigan was not unexpected. Losing to Michigan by only 10 was, perhaps, unexpected. Having a freshman, Stephen Curry, drop 32 points on Michigan was VERY unexpected. That's no knock on Curry at all.....it's just rare that a freshman comes in against the Wolverines in his second-ever college game and knocks down 32 against them in their house. Nobody is really in favor of moral victories, but this game may be a sign of good things to come this year.

Crushing CCSU by 27 points was a fitting finale to the weekend. Granted, CCSU is not a good team at all. However, with the young bunch we have on the team, who knows what could have happened? Like EMU, CCSU is a large school with over 12,000 students. In the game, Curry was apparently off a little, but still put up 16 points. Jason Richardson and Boris chipped in with 15 and 12 points, respectively. Thomas Sander apparently decided to put on a show, and lit up CCSU for 26 points.....which included at least one 3-pointer. If we start getting that type of production out of Sander, we're going to be just fine. Sander is a tough son-of-a-gun.

Conclusion from the weekend:
We've got talent..no doubt. The freshman are going to be making great contributions. Stephen Curry obviously began to make a name for himself by leading all the players on all four teams in scoring for the weekend. Will Archambault played solid minutes, averaging 8.7 points per game in the first three games of his college career. Freshman Bryant Barr came in a the end of the CCSU game to hit 5 quick points, apparently in front of a bunch of his family. (That must have been a thrill for him.) Clearly, Thomas Sander is going to be a great leader on this team, as well as Richardson and Meno.

After the CCSU game, McKillop gave this weekend an overall grade of "A". I would have to agree. Starting out 2-1, and finding out we've got some real talent in this year's freshman class was a great way to begin the season. I really think we've got a chance to surprise alot of people this year. I'm already looking forward to heading to Charleston in March.

Outlook for the next week:
Now we've got the University of Illinois-Chicago coming to Davidson on Wednesday. I'm sure the guys would like to get a little revenge against them for last year's loss. Then on Sunday, it would be great to make it 3 in a row against Missouri (at Missouri). Without a doubt, they are going to be ready to pounce on Davidson after what the team has done to Missouri the past 2 years. They will not be taking us lightly. However, with the way Davidson has emerged from this past weekend's games, I would not be surprised to see the winning streak against Missouri continue.

Who knows? This could wind up being another special season under McKillop.

Curry makes All-Challenge Team

John Thompson Challenge: All-Challenge Team

Stephen Curry, Davidson*
Javier Mojica, Central Connecticut State
Carlos Medlock, Eastern Michigan
Ron Coleman, Michigan
Courtney Sims, Michigan

Challenge MVP
Dion Harris, Michigan

*Curry averaged 21.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game for the 3 games played in the Challenge. Curry was, by far, the leading scorer for the Challenge weekend. Thomas Sander was the second leading scorer with a 16.3 ppg average.

Pictures from the Michigan/Davidson game

Photos by U-M Photo Services, Martin Vloet
Click here to see all photos from the game as found at the official Michigan Basketball site.

Wildcats roll past Central Connecticut State, 91-64

Sander Leads 'Cats to 91-64 victory with 26 Points

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Junior forward Thomas Sander connected on 12-of-17 from the floor for a career-high 26 points as Davidson cruised to a 91-64 victory over Central Connecticut State on Sunday afternoon in the final of three games in the John Thompson Foundation Challenge hosted by the University of Michigan. As a team the Wildcats shot 55 percent from the floor to improve to 2-1 on the season, while CCSU fell to 0-3.

Click here for entire article from Davidson offiicial website.

Click here for Box Score

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From CCSU official website:

Men's Hoops Drops to 0-3 on the Season on Sunday
Ann Arbor, MI - Junior guard Tristan Blackwood and senior guard Javier Mojica combined for 37 points and seven threes but the Blue Devils fell to Davidson, 91-64, on Sunday afternoon. With the loss Central Connecticut drops to 0-3 on the season while Davidson improves to 2-1. The game was the third in three days for each team at the John Thompson Challenge held on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Blue Devils return to action on Saturday on the road at New Hampshire beginning at noon.

Click here for entire article.

Davidson faces Central Connecticut State Sunday

If you can't get the game on the radio, TV or internet audio feed, you can follow the progress of the game on Gametracker.

Click here for Gametracker.

Wildcats fall to Michigan Wolverines 78-68

Curry's 32 Points Not Enough in 78-68 Loss to Michigan

ANN ARBOR, MICH. — Freshman Stephen Curry scored 32 points for Davidson, but Michigan was able to thwart several comeback attempts to fend off the feisty Wildcats on the second day of the John Thompson Foundation Challenge, 78-68. Davidson fell to 1-1 on the young season while the host Wolverines improved to 2-0.

Click here for entire article.

Click here for box score.

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From ESPN.com:

Michigan 78, Davidson 68

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- Dion Harris scored 23 points and Courtney Sims added 21 to lead Michigan past Davidson 78-68 on Saturday in the John Thompson Challenge.

Click here for entire article from the AP wire.

Davidson "University" wins season opener

From EMU website:
Men's Hoops (EMU) Drops Season Opener

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Davidson University overcame a 17-point halftime deficit to claim a 73-69 victory over the Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team in the 2006-07 season opener Friday night here at the John Thompson Classic held at Crisler Arena on the campus of the University of Michigan.

Click here for entire article.

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Editorial Comment: Davidson University? Do a little research, will you?

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From Davidson "University" (ha!) website:

'Cats Rally Late in Season Opener to Beat Eastern Michigan, 81-77

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After trailing by as many as 17 in the first half, Davidson rallied to win its season opener against Eastern Michigan, 81-77, in the John Thompson Foundation Challenge hosted by the University of Michigan. The young Wildcat squad overcame 32 turnovers with four players scoring in double figures, led by junior Thomas Sander with a career-high 19 points.
Click here for entire article.

Click here for Box Score.

Care to discuss the game? Click here to go to DavidsonCats.com and join the discussion.

Follow the EMU game on Gametracker

If you can't get the game on the radio, TV or internet audio feed, you can follow the progress of the game on Gametracker. It's not video or audio, but it does give constantly updated score, time and stat info. It's somewhat of a last resort, but it will do in a pinch.

Click here for Gametracker direct link for the Davidson/EMU game.

If the above link doesn't work, click here to go to the EMU website, and then click on the "Live Stats vs. Davidson" link on the right side of the EMU webpage.

Wildcats gear up for road trip to Michigan to play 3 games

The Wildcats open their season on Friday night in Ann Arbor, Michigan, playing in the John Thompson Foundation Challenge, hosted by the University of Michigan.

The venue will be Crisler Arena, which was "Named in honor of Herbert 'Fritz' Crisler, U-M athletic director from 1941-1967, Crisler Area has served as the seat of Michigan basketball since 1967. It's capacity of 13,562 has provided a superior venue for games, concerts, and commencement activities ever since."

Here's the game schedule for this weekend:
Nov. 10 vs. Eastern Michigan @ 6:00 (game notes: click here)
Nov. 11 vs. Michigan @ 4:00
Nov. 12 vs. Central Connecticut State @ 2:00

Links:
Eastern Michigan Basketball: click here
Michigan Basketball website: click here
Central Conn. State Basketball website: click here

Here's a link to Michigan's game notes for the weekend: Click here
Here's a link to Central Connecticut State's game notes for the weekend: Click here
Here's a link to Eastern Michigan's game notes for the weekend: Click here

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Preview of Eastern Michigan:
Eastern Michigan returns two starters from last year’s club that finished the 2005-06 season with a 7-21 overall record and 3-15 mark in the MAC.

Article from EMU site: EMU to Play in John Thompson Challenge

Crisler Arena Replica Model: (I know the picture of this miniature Crisler Arena was completely unnecessary, but it was so ridiculous that I couldn't resist.)