Wildcats Meet College of Charleston Monday on ESPNU

Davidson Wildcats (8-2, 1-0 SoCon) vs. College of Charleston Cougars (10-1, 2-0 SoCon)

Date: Dec. 29, 2008
Time: 9 p.m.
Site: Carolina First Arena (5,100 capacity) - Charleston, S.C.
Audio: John Kilgo calls the action on the Davidson Radio Network (1350 AM, 610 AM, 97.5 FM [joined in progress], online on Teamline)
Video: Televised on ESPNU with Sam Gore calling the game and Mark Adams providing color analysis
Web sites: Davidson (www.DavidsonWildcats.com), Charleston (www.cofcsports.com)

Full game notes (PDF)

Layup Line
• The Wildcats return to action following Christmas break with an early-season showdown at Southern Conference South Division rival the College of Charleston.
• It's the final game of the 2008 calendar year, which has seen the Wildcats post a 33-3 record.
• Davidson is playing just its second contest in 16 days.
• The Wildcats are in the midst of a stretch where they play six of eight games on the road.
• Davidson has won 31 straight Southern Conference regular-season games and 38 of its last 39 dating back to Feb. 25, 2006.
• The 'Cats are coming off a 76-58 loss to then 13th-ranked Purdue in the Wooden Tradition Dec. 20.
• Davidson has won six of its last seven contests and is off to its best start since the 'Cats went 11-1 to open the 1969-70 campaign. That squad finished the season with a 22-5 record and a third-straight NCAA?Tournament appearance.
• The Wildcats have played just one true road game this season, an 82-78 loss at then 12th-ranked Oklahoma. Davidson is also 2-1 in neutral site games.
• Head coach Bob McKillop, in his 20th season, needs two victories to reach 350 for his career.
• Winners of eight straight games, the College of Charleston is off to its best start since beginning the 2003-04 campaign with a 10-1 record.
•The Cougars have won their first two league road games for the first time since 2003-04 as well.
• College of Charleston is 5-1 at home and has won its last four in its new building, including an 82-80 overtime decision over South Carolina.
• The Cougars and Wildcats share one common opponent so far this season - Winthrop. C of C is coming off a 77-76 road victory over the Eagles Dec. 22. Davidson defeated Winthrop 97-70 at home Nov. 21.
• Today's game features a CollegeInsider.com mid-major top-10 match-up. Davidson is ranked third, and the Cougars are seventh.
• Davidson was picked first in the South Division, and College of Charleston was picked second in both SoCon Preseason Polls (media and coaches).

Series History
• Davidson leads the all-time series, which began in the 1926-27 campaign, 46-9.
• The Wildcats have won the last 10 contests in the series. Davidson owns a 20-6 record on the road.
• The 'Cats are 14-3 against College of Charleston under head coach Bob McKillop, and all 17 meetings have come since the Cougars joined the SoCon in 1998.
• Davidson posted an 81-56 home victory in the last meeting, Feb. 9, 2008.
• Stephen Curry led the Wildcats with 26 points, and Jason Richards contributed 11 points and 10 assists.
• Tony White Jr. led College of Charleston with 13 points, and Andrew Goudelock added 12.
• Davidson committed just seven turnovers in the game.

Claw Marks
• The Wildcats dropped out of the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll last Monday after being ranked for nine straight weeks, dating back to last season. Davidson cracked the Coaches' top-25 prior to their victory over Elon in the Southern Conference Championship March 10.
• Davidson has held its opponents under 40 percent shooting from the field in five of its last seven games.
• Stephen Curry has hit the 20-point mark in 55 career games, the 30-point mark in 21 outings and the 40-point plateau five times. He owns the school record for career games with 40 or more and trails all-time leading scorer John Gerdy in games with 30 or more (24).
• Curry has moved past Derek Rucker into third on the Davidson all-time scoring list. He is 39 points away from 2,000.
• Curry has also moved past Greg Dunn and into 14th on the assist chart (266).
• Davidson set a school record with 25 steals against Guilford Nov. 14. Curry and Max Paulhus Gosselin combined for 17.
• The 'Cats' victory over NC?State Dec. 6 was their first against an ACC?school since defeating North Carolina 58-54 in Chapel Hill Nov. 20, 2001.
• Davidson is now 1-2 all-time in Time Warner Cable Arena with the losses coming to North Carolina and Duke last season and a win against NC?State this season.

Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy Candidate
• Stephen Curry, a 2008 Wooden Award All-American, has been selected as one of the top-50 candidates for the award this season.
• The junior guard has also been named to the Naismith Trophy Watch List.
• Curry was named a first-team preseason All-American by The Associated Press, The Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Athlon Sports, Blue Ribbon Basketball and CollegeHoops.net. He was selected the Preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year in the league's coaches poll.
• He received the second-most votes (66) of any player in being selected preseason All-America by the Associated Press. Tyler Hansbrough was a unanimous selection with 72 votes.
• The Wooden Award Committee will release the Mid-Season Top-30 candidates in mid-January, and the final ballot will be announced in March.
• In February, the Naismith Trophy voting academy, comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country, will narrow its early season list to the Top 30 players in the nation. Those players, and others who distinguish themselves throughout the season, will be eligible for the final ballot in March.
• The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T will be awarded at the 2009 NCAA Men's Final Four in Detroit, Mich.

The Love of Lovedale
• Davidson senior forward Andrew Lovedale has been named one of 30 men's basketball candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, presented annually to an NCAA Division I student-athlete in nine sports.
• Based on criteria focusing on the “Four C's” of classroom, character, community and competition, the award winners will be selected by national balloting of head basketball coaches, national media and college basketball fans.
• Lowe's, an official corporate partner of the NCAA, will present the winners with trophies during the weekends of the respective NCAA Men's and Women's Final Four.
• Lovedale hails from Benin City, Nigeria, and only makes it home once every year.
• When he does go back to Nigeria, he collects used gear (shoes, shorts, shirts) from his teammates to take home and distribute to his less fortunate countrymen. He fills as many bags as the airlines will allow and comes back to the US with nothing.
• Lovedale says there are many interested in basketball in Nigeria, but they do not have the proper equipment. He wants to help give them the chance to learn the sport that has given him the opportunity to go to school in the United States.

Sporting News College Athlete of the Year
• Stephen Curry was named the College Athlete of the Year by the Sporting News. The announcement came in the Dec. 22 issue, which featured interviews with Curry and SN's pro and high school athletes of the year.
• Curry finished fourth in the country in scoring, averaging 25.9 points a contest, a season ago. He set an NCAA record with 162 3-pointers and shot 43.9 percent from long distance while leading the Wildcats to the Midwest Regional final, where he was named the regional's Most Outstanding Player.
• He scored 30 or more points in 11 contests, 40 or more points twice, 20 or more in 27 games and shot 48 percent from the floor en route to earning second-team All-America honors.
• Curry has helped lead his team to a 33-3 record in the 2008 calendar year, including a nation-leading 25-game win streak.

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