Davidson: Are They for Real?
By Matt Josephs for Steve Merril Sports
One of the biggest losers coming out of the Bracket Buster Weekend was Davidson who couldn’t defend their home court against the Butler Bulldogs and lost outright 75-63 as a 4½-point home favorite. Davidson is now a bubble team that might need to win the Southern Conference tournament in order to ensure their spot in the field of 65.The Wildcats were a single basket away from a trip to the Final Four last season, so the question now arises if Davidson is for real this season?
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The numbers that matter to the NCAA Selection Committee don’t shine too brightly for the Wildcats. The team is 21-6 straight-up with an RPI of 58 and a strength of schedule at 128. The resume also lacks the quality wins that a mid-major team needs to get an at-large bid. Their best wins were over West Virginia and NC State, but they have losses versus College of Charleston and The Citadel which do not help their cause.
Davidson was also dominated by Purdue and Oklahoma earlier this season. The Wildcats trailed by 21 points at Oklahoma before a late rally made the final score seem respectable. Davidson also trailed 21-0 at Purdue and did not score for the first seven minutes of the game.
Statistically, the team is led by superstar Stephen Curry who is the number one scorer in the country at a whopping 29 points per game. Curry is also 5th in three pointers made per game, 11th in steals per game, and 25th in free throw percentage. 
Outside of Curry, the team only has one other double-digit scorer as senior forward Andrew Lovedale is averaging 12.5 points per game. He is also 37th in the country with 8.9 rebounds per game.
Davidson relies too heavily on the scoring of Stephen Curry and they also rely more than normal on the three-point shot as they take 39.3% of their shots from beyond the arc (national average is just 33.1%). This dependence on Curry was evident when the Wildcats lost outright 64-46 as a 15½-point home favorite versus The Citadel last week. Curry missed that game with an ankle injury and Davidson was a miserable 17-for-67 (25.4%) from the field, including just 3-for-23 (13.0%) from three-point range. The team also struggled in Curry’s return on Saturday versus Butler as Curry shot just 6-for-23 (26.1%) from the field, including an awful 2-for-13 (15.4%) from beyond the arc.
Davidson will likely win the Southern Conference tournament and this will ensure another trip to the NCAA Tournament, however it is unlikely that Davidson will make another run to the Elite Eight. Teams are no longer overlooking the Wildcats as evident by the fact Davidson is just 2-4 straight-up this season versus teams that currently rank in my power ratings’ Top 100. Davidson was a feel good story last year, but it appears they are not for real this year.
Matt Josephs is a producer for ESPN Radio in Richmond Virginia. He loves the home underdog and the Temple Owls.
