DETROIT -- The way I see it, Kansas has 20 minutes of game clock to put Davidson away. That's one half. The first half. But that's it.
If Kansas can't do it? If Davidson is still in range entering the second half?
Watch out, Kansas. Watch out, because the weight of the world -- the pressure, the crowd, the ridicule, all of it brought to bear by a baby-faced assassin named Stephen Curry -- will come crushing down. Forget winning. By the midpoint of the second half, if Davidson is still in this game, Kansas will have a hard time breathing.
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| Stephen Curry doesn't get it going until after halftime. (US Presswire) |
People want Davidson to win.
That will include most of the 60,000 fans expected at Ford Field for the region final Sunday. The Jayhawks will have their rooting section, but the configuration of this monstrous football facility works against them. Kansas had thousands of fans at Ford Field on Friday, too, and you couldn't hear them. In the final minutes of the Jayhawks' 72-57 domination of Villanova, when Kansas fans broke into their Rock-Chalk-Jayhawk chant, it sounded like a whisper coming over a cell phone. Kansas coach Bill Self called the atmosphere "pretty indifferent."
It won't be indifferent Sunday, not with upwards of 45,000 people screaming for Davidson, regardless of how far from the court they are. It won't sound like a whisper. It will sound like an avalanche off in the distance, and it will be toppling onto Kansas.
There's only one way out for Kansas, and that way is through ruthless domination. The Jayhawks have it in them, believe me. Davidson is stout and Curry is spectacular, but Kansas is too much. Too much size, too much explosion, too much depth. Gonzaga was quicker than Davidson. Georgetown and Wisconsin were bigger than Davidson. Kansas will be both -- quicker and bigger than Davidson -- and Kansas also can match the Wildcats' skill and unselfishness. Kansas has the horses to trample Davidson.
But it better happen fast, because Davidson owns the second half. Gonzaga led Davidson by 11 midway through the second half, but the 'Zags let Davidson hang around, and you know the rest of the story. Curry scored 30 of his 40 points after halftime, and Davidson was pulling away at the final horn.
Then, Georgetown. The Hoyas led by 17 in the second half, but they let Davidson hang around -- and you know the rest of that story, too. Curry scored 25 of his 30 points after halftime, and Davidson notched another upset.
Wisconsin never made Davidson uncomfortable, getting involved in a back-and-forth game until Curry took control with 16 points in 6½ minutes of the second half. He finished with 33, and Davidson blew the Badgers away.
Now, Kansas. The Jayhawks have seen what happens to teams -- to very good teams -- when Davidson hangs around.
"It does kind of worry me a little bit," said Kansas junior Brandon Rush. "They're really hot ... and Stephen Curry is probably the best player in the tournament right now."
