Stephen Curry simply tugged at his red Davidson jersey and pumped his fist at the end of the Wildcats' 73-56 win against Wisconsin.
This convincing victory didn't have the wild hugs and emotion of Davidson's previous two wins in the NCAA tournament. Friday's win -- which moved the Wildcats within a victory of the Final Four -- showed Davidson belonged among the elite.
"There is just such a sense of confidence that these guys have now," Davidson coach Bob McKillop said.
That confidence starts with Curry, who seized the game in the second half. He scored 22 of his 33 points after halftime, including 11 during a 14-2 run that gave the Wildcats command.
Davidson led 60-45 at that point and Wisconsin never got closer than 14 points in the final 10 minutes.
The 10th-seeded Wildcats (29-6) have that Cinderella charm, but Davidson also showed a giant's grit. Wildcats players harassed Wisconsin players into poor shots in the second half, and held the third-seeded Badgers (31-5) to 20 points.
More than 350 Davidson students made the 11-hour bus trip to Detroit to see their classmates play one of their best games of the season, and celebrated their 25th straight win.
"We share this," McKillop said. "This is just a community and a fan base that care about these kids, and we care about them. This is a love affair."
Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James cheered on Curry too, leaping out of his seat after a Curry reverse scoop shot late in the game. Curry couldn't help but smile after that move, which capped another flawless show.
"We've seen that all year," forward Thomas Sander said of Curry. "I'm just glad people across the country get to see how good he is now."
The only drama Curry faced came before the game, when he lost his game shoes at the team hotel. He had been sending e-mails at the computer lab there -- his own laptop keeps crashing because of an overload of e-mails -- and forgot his kicks. But he found another big game once he arrived at Ford Field.
His parents wore red "Witness" T-shirts, and his mom Sonya said she wasn't nervous before the game. She hadn't felt that kind of calm before in this tournament, but something told her Davidson was in for a special night.
"This win says we aren't overwhelmed by anybody," Stephen Curry said. "We aren't changing anything for any team."
Sonya Curry buried her head in her hands as the clock ticked out, not believing how dominant Davidson had become. By the time Curry and the other starters left the game with a minute left, Davidson had a lot more believers.
"This just shows what we are doing at Davidson," said point guard Jason Richards, who had 13 assists and no turnovers. "We believe we can do this."
| DAVIDSON | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
| Sander | 25 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Lovedale | 23 | 5-5 | 2-3 | 2-4 | 0 | 3 | 12 |
| Richards | 39 | 4-13 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 13 | 2 | 11 |
| Gosselin | 24 | 1-3 | 2-2 | 3-6 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Curry | 37 | 11-22 | 5-5 | 1-3 | 4 | 4 | 33 |
| McKillop | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Meno | 11 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Civi | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Schmitt | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Archmblt | 8 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Rossiter | 20 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Barr | 10 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Nelms | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 200 | 26-53 | 9-12 | 11-28 | 18 | 19 | 73 |
Percentages: FG .491, FT .750.
3-Point Goals: 12-24, .500 (Curry 6-11, Richards 3-8, Barr 2-3, Archambault 1-1, Paulhus Gosselin 0-1).
Team Rebounds: 3.
Blocked Shots: 0.
Turnovers: 7 (Lovedale 2, Curry 2, Paulhus Gosselin).
Steals: 9 (Curry 4, Paulhus Gosselin 2, Richards, Rossiter, Meno).
Technical Fouls: None.
| WISCONSIN | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
| Landry | 31 | 1-4 | 5-6 | 1-6 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Krbbnhft | 35 | 4-5 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| Butch | 29 | 4-9 | 1-4 | 0-2 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| Hughes | 12 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Flowers | 40 | 4-14 | 1-1 | 3-6 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| Bohannon | 34 | 3-8 | 3-4 | 1-2 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
| Bronson | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jarmusz | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leuer | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stiemsma | 16 | 1-3 | 3-4 | 2-5 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Nankivil | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 200 | 17-46 | 14-21 | 14-31 | 9 | 13 | 56 |
Percentages: FG .370, FT .667.
3-Point Goals: 8-23, .348 (Flowers 3-9, Bohannon 2-4, Butch 2-6, Krabbenhoft 1-1, Landry 0-1, Hughes 0-2).
Team Rebounds: 5.
Blocked Shots: 3 (Stiemsma 2, Bohannon).
Turnovers: 12 (Krabbenhoft 3, Flowers 2, Stiemsma 2, Butch 2, Landry, Bohannon, Bronson).
Steals: 2 (Bohannon, Flowers).
Technical Fouls: None.
| Davidson | 36 | 37 | -- | 73 |
| Wisconsin | 36 | 20 | -- | 56 |
Att.--NA.
Officials--David C. Hall, Tom B. Eades, Paul T. Faia.
