Davidson Travels to South Carolina for NIT Tuesday Night

Davidson Wildcats (26-7) vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (21-9)
2009 National Invitation Tournament

Date: March 17, 2009
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Colonial Life Arena (18,000 capacity) - Columbia, S.C.
Audio: John Kilgo calls the action on the Davidson Radio Network (1350 AM, 610 AM and 95.7 FM)
Video: Broadcast live on ESPN2 with Dave Pasch calling the action and Hubert Davis providing the color analysis

Full game notes (PDF)

Layup Line
• Davidson opens play in its fifth postseason NIT Tuesday at 7 p.m. when the Wildcats travel to South Carolina.
• The game will be televised live on ESPN2.
• It's Davidson's first appearance in the NIT since 2005, when the 'Cats went 2-1 in the tournament.
• Davidson owns a 2-4 all-time record in the NIT, and all six games have been on the road.
• The Wildcats earned an automatic bid to the NIT by virtue of having the best regular-season record in the Southern Conference, an 18-2 mark.
• The Wildcats have won 16 of their last 20 overall but are coming off a 59-52 setback to College of Charleston in the semifinal round of the SoCon Tournament March 8.
• Junior guard Stephen Curry, who became Davidson's career scoring leader Feb. 28, became the 60th player in NCAA Division I history to score over 2,500 career points with 26 March 2.
• After posting 63 points in two games in the SoCon Tourney, he became the SoCon's all-time leading scorer. He now has 2,577 points, which ranks 36th on the NCAA Division I career list, and is 56 away from moving into the top-25.
• Curry has moved into seventh on the NCAA Division I career 3-pointers list with 405, six away from fifth.
• Curry has been named first-team All-America by the U.S. Basketball Writer's Association (USBWA) and The Sporting News. He is the first Davidson player to earn USBWA All-America honors since Mike Maloy in 1969.
• Head coach Bob McKillop is coaching in his 599th career collegiate contest tonight.
• South Carolina is 3-3 in its last six games and is coming off an 82-68 loss to Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament.
• The Gamecocks are 16-2 at home, including 9-1 in non-conference games.
• South Carolina and Davidson share five common opponents. The Gamecocks defeated Winthrop (86-63), Furman (72-48), The Citadel (80-66) and Wofford (78-61) and lost at College of Charleston (82-80, OT).

Series History
• The 'Cats and Gamecocks have a storied history that dates back to 1909 and includes a previous postseason NIT matchup, a 100-79 South Carolina home victory in 1996, which is also the last time the two schools met on the hardwood.
• The 'Cats trail the all-time series 39-25 and are 6-24 on the road.

Candidate Curry
• Stephen Curry has been named a candidate for a number of national awards.
• He has been selected as one of the 24 finalists for the Wooden Award and a top-30 midseason candidate for the Naismith Trophy, both of which are given by different organizations to the nation's Player of the Year.
• He has been named a finalist for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, given to the Player of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation's best point guard.
• The Wooden Award will be given out in Los Angeles in April, while the other three honors will be awarded at the Final Four in Detroit.

Claw Marks
• Davidson has held its opponents under 40 percent shooting in 20 games this season and has won 19.
• The Wildcats have outrebounded their opponent in 21 games this season and have won all 21.
• Andrew Lovedale has become the 11th player in Davidson history to record over 800 points (858) and 700 rebounds (733).
• Stephen Curry has hit the 20-point mark in 76 career games, the 30-point mark in 29 outings and the 40-point plateau six times. He owns the school record for career games with 40 or more and career contests with 30 or more.
• Davidson played in front of sold-out buildings in its last 11 regular-season contests.
• Davidson has committed less than 15 turnovers in 24 games and less turnovers than its opponent in 28 contests.

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