Badgers will Face Upset Minded Davidson

Erasing a 16-point second-half deficit, No.10 Davidson puts wrench in Georgetown's national championship hopes and earns a date with the Badgers on Friday.

MADISON – When the Badgers made their improbable run to the elite eight in 2005, Wisconsin (then a sixth seed) was the major benefactor of March Madness.

Watching No.14 Bucknell and No.10 North Carolina State upset No.3 Kansas and No.2 Connecticut, respectively, Wisconsin did not have to face a seed higher than them until narrowly falling to the eventual national champion North Carolina.

Three years later, March Madness has helped out the Badgers once again.

One day after defeating No.11 Kansas State (who upset six-seeded USC), the Badgers watched No.10 Davidson, a tiny liberal arts school from Charlotte who has not won a tournament game since 1969, shock No.2 Georgetown, a school many considered a legit final four contender, 74-70 in nearby Raleigh, North Carolina.

Two days after scoring 40 on Gonzaga in the first round, sophomore guard Stephen Curry, averaging 25.5 points during the regular season, dropped 30 points on Georgetown (28-6), 25 of which came in the second half, to erase a 16-point deficit with 15 minutes remaining in the second half.

He was not alone in the backcourt, however, as senior guard Jason Richards added 20 points in the win.

Although Georgetown shot 63.4 percent and Davidson (28-6) 38.6 percent, the Hoyas went just 8-for-17 from the free throw line, turned the ball over 20 times (the Wildcats turned the ball over only four times) and Hoya senior Roy Hibbert scored only six points in 15 minutes, fouling out in the final minutes.

The Badgers (31-4) and Wildcats have met only once before in each school’s respective history. Davidson beat Wisconsin 67-63 in December 1980 in the First Union Classic in Charlotte, a game considered a neutral site contest.

The time for the Davidson-Wisconsin regional game in Detroit on Friday will be announced Sunday night.