Jacobs: Raleigh's Winning Duo Eclipse Rest of ACC

Maybe the ACC should expand again – and take Davidson, if the Wildcats will have them.

Certainly the Southern Conference school proved as competitive as any ACC member in this year’s NCAA field, and better than most, as it upset Georgetown 74-70 in Raleigh. Of the four ACC schools accorded NCAA bids, only North Carolina, which jumped on Arkansas early and cruised to a 108-77 victory in Sunday's second game at the RBC Center, advanced as far as the Wildcats.

UNC coach Roy Williams tried to talk up Arkansas prior to their meeting, but the No. 9 seed was no match for the Tar Heels in the sort of open-court game in which the nation’s top-ranked squad routinely thrives.

The Heels were so dominant, they became the first team since Loyola Marymount in 1990 to break the 100-point barrier in their first two NCAA games, having routed No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s 113-74 in their opener. UNC's scoring was no gimmick; point guards Ty Lawson and Quentin Thomas ran the offense flawlessly, combining for 21 assists without a turnover in the two contests.

In another bit of good news for North Carolina, sophomore big men Deon Thompson and Alex Stepheson, both of whom struggled recently, combined to make all 13 shots they attempted against Arkansas. That fueled UNC’s 67.7 percent shooting, second-best at the school in NCAA play, after a 79.0 percent effort against Loyola Marymount in 1988.

“I think Carolina’s got a good combination of depth and speed,” said Arkansas coach John Pelphrey. “I thought they were very, very physical today. Obviously, they’re coached by a Hall of Famer. I think I’m safe saying this is the best team we’ve played this year.”

UNC next moves down the road to Charlotte, where it will encounter a markedly different style from defense-oriented Washington State on Thursday at 7:27 PM in the regional semifinals. The Heels will be going for their 35th victory of the season (against two losses), which would be a school record.

North Carolina’s showing muted, but could not mask, another poor NCAA performance by teams from the proud ACC.

This is the second straight year the conference has sent a single member to the Sweet 16, once a regular stomping ground, and only the second time the ACC had so weak a showing since multiple entrants from the same league were first allowed in the tournament in 1975.

Meanwhile, Davidson’s 24th consecutive win propelled it to the Sweet 16 in the Midwest, the first Southern Conference school to advance that far since Chattanooga in 1997. Those Mocassins were directed by Mack McCarthy, currently the head coach at East Carolina.

For the longest time, it appeared the 10th-seeded Wildcats were no match for Georgetown, the regular season champions from the mighty Big East, a power conference that got half of its 16 members into the tournament.

The Hoyas made two-thirds of their shots in the opening period while holding Davidson to 26.7 percent accuracy. The second seed coolly increased its lead to 17 points with just under 18 minutes left and seemed in total command despite foul trouble that neutralized its most unique weapon, 7-2 Roy Hibbert.

But a subtle halftime adjustment in Davidson’s full-court defensive pressure, coupled with an apparent lull in concentration by Georgetown, saw the momentum shift, first slowly, then with the speed and irresistability of a riptide. While the Hoyas committed repeated turnovers, or threw up quick, errant jumpers, the Wildcats and guard Stephen Curry came alive.

“Georgetown gets out of their rhythm, all of a sudden we get stops,” said Davidson coach Bob McKillop, who conceded he felt “numb” in the wake of his team’s success. “We get stops, we get in transition. We get in transition … we get a couple of easy baskets. It led then to a bit of confidence, which fed the rest of the half.”

Throughout the first half, Georgetown’s man-to-man defense, which led the nation in suppressing opponents’ field-goal accuracy, had contained Curry, who had 40 points in an opening round upset of Gonzaga. The 6-3 sophomore managed only five first-half points, and missed all but three of his initial 16 field-goal attempts. Yet he never forced a shot, never changed expression, never quit gliding patiently about the court like a shark in search of prey.

Following the ethic of a great player, while the All-America’s shot refused to fall, he supported his team in other ways, adding three steals and five assists without a turnover. Several times he deftly passed to teammates for layups when defenders became mesmerized by the threat of his jumpshot.

Then, as if a switch had been turned, the shots fell in a flurry for Curry.

During the final 9½ minutes, he scored 21 of his 30 points. He hit threes when afforded the slightest open look, drove to the basket, hit free throws. Curry’s scoop shot in traffic with 3:52 remaining gave Davidson a 62-60 edge, an advantage it never relinquished.

“They set a lot of screens for him, and he was in constant motion,” said Georgetown guard Jonathan Wallace, whose shot sank UNC in last year’s NCAAs. “We just tried to be there on the catch and force him to make tough shots, but he makes tough shots.”

Watching the Wildcats rally from a double-digit deficit electrified the RBC Center crowd, producing the rare sight of fans in sky blue cheering alongside those clad in red, Davidson’s color.

Since the ACC Tournament, Roy Williams repeatedly dismissed the positive effect that playing in North Carolina arenas might have on his team. Davidson players knew it made a difference, though, at least for them.

“They were big for us,” Curry said of the fans. “When we started making a comeback, we could definitely feel the noise and the involvement from the crowd starting to rise. We definitely fed off of them a little bit. We just wanted to keep it going and keep them in it and just keep the runs going.”

The last 10th seed to advance to the Sweet 16 was N.C. State in 2005. The Wolfpack was ousted that year by Wisconsin, Davidson’s next opponent. A No. 10 seed has never reached the Final Four since seeding began in 1979. Then again, none of those teams had Stephen Curry, or played with any more poise than McKillop’s group.