Charlotte Observer article

Cats now face tall order
Davidson dominates, but No. 1 UNC is next
KEVIN CARY

DAVIDSON --The Davidson Wildcats looked like giants in their 120-56 win against Emory on Friday night.

But the biggest question is whether the Wildcats can be giant killers Wednesday night. That's when Davidson faces No. 1 North Carolina at Bobcats Arena in the Wildcats program's biggest regular-season game in almost 40 years.

Davidson hasn't beaten a ranked opponent during coach Bob McKillop's 19 years at the school. "We aren't even thinking about (North Carolina) yet," he said. "We are just trying to build consistency right now. We'll go to practice (today) and try to get better."

The Wildcats couldn't play much better than they did at the start of Friday's opener, which saw Davidson jump out to a 16-0 lead. The Wildcats (1-0) used a prohibitive size advantage to ground the Eagles, blocking eight shots in the first half.

Emory (0-1) has only two players taller than 6-foot-3 on its roster, while Davidson often used lineups where every player was at least that tall. The Wildcats had a 68-34 rebound advantage.

Guards Stephen Curry and Jason Richards also looked assertive after a lackluster game in Wednesday's exhibition with Lenoir-Rhyne. Curry scored 27 points and hit five 3-pointers, and Richards added 14 points and 10 assists.

It was the kind of domination Davidson needed heading into Wednesday. The Wildcats were beaten by UNC by 24 points two years ago, but none of Davidson's current core players started that game. Curry wasn't on the team yet.

"We have a few days to get ready," he said. "We have a lot of confidence, but we have to take things day by day."