With 10 years of hindsight — has it really been that long? — second-seeded Georgetown’s 74-70 loss to 10th-seeded Davidson in the second round of the 2008 NCAA tournament doesn’t seem all that surprising, and not only because the Hoyas were upset by No. 14 seed Ohio and No. 15 seed Florida Gulf Coast in subsequent Marches.
Yes, Georgetown, led by seniors Roy Hibbert and Jonathan Wallace, was coming off a trip to the Final Four the year before. Yes, Davidson had earned the school’s first tournament win since 1969 only two days before facing the Hoyas at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C. But unlike Ohio, whose 2010 upset of Georgetown was fueled by future Maine Red Claws draft pick Armon Bassett, or FGCU, whose 2013 bracket busters aren’t household names outside of Dunk City, Davidson had a scrawny sophomore guard named Stephen Curry, who everyone now recognizes as one of the best players on the planet.
“In the end, this was not a game that the crowd controlled or the zebras distorted or the Hoyas squandered, though all those elements were needed for such a stunner,” The Post’s Thomas Boswell wrote 10 years ago today. “Above all, this was a game that glorious gunner Stephen Curry (30 points), one of the best long shooters of any generation, and his Davidson running mate Jason Richards (20 points) went out and ripped from the hands of a careless Hoyas team that let a potential blowout turn into the school’s most alarming tournament defeat since losing the title game to Villanova in ’85.”
Boswell observed that “Davidson has two players who could start for Georgetown while nine Hoyas might start for Davidson.” Curry, who scored 40 points in Davidson’s first round win over Gonzaga, could’ve started for any team in the tournament. After shooting only 2 for 8 in the first half against Georgetown, Curry scored 25 of his 30 points in the final 15 minutes, fueling the Wildcats’ comeback from 17 points down early in the second half.
“The red flag goes up for Curry [at halftime],” Georgetown Coach John Thompson III said. “He scored 30 in the second half two days ago. For the most part, we had guys all over him. And the ball [kept] going in.”
Curry credited Georgetown’s Jeremiah Rivers for doing “a great job” chasing him around screens in the first half, as the Hoyas built an 11-point lead. Freshman Chris Wright and Wallace also took turns shadowing Curry, who ranked fourth nationally with 25.9 points per game during the regular season.
“I was just going to be patient and not force the issue, because I have total confidence in my teammates to make plays,” Curry said.
“I think he knew they were in the hole in the second half, and once he let a few go — kind of recklessly, I thought — it was a free-for-all from there for him,” Rivers said. “I had my hand in his face a few times, and we were switching, but …”
But, as countless NBA players have learned since Curry entered the league in 2009 and has since won two MVP awards, there’s not much you can do to prevent him from filling up the scoring column.
Davidson trailed, 48-33, with 14:24 remaining when Wildcats Coach Bob McKillop called a timeout and asked his players if they were having fun.
“Within a minute,” Boswell wrote, “Curry jacked up one more 25-footer as Jeremiah Rivers ran at him. Swish, fouled-in-the-act, four-point play — and a crowd, long asleep, suddenly awakened. Davidson: enrollment 1,700. Wildcats “fans” at RBC Center: Almost 10 times that number. Somebody ask the NCAA committee if the Big East regular season champion deserves that. After that, Georgetown lost some poise while Curry discovered not only his no-conscience shooter’s touch but added two ludicrous scoop-in-traffic acrobatic layups. Even when he scored 40 points to upset Gonzaga on Friday, he didn’t show those moves.”
“Down the stretch, Curry made one big shot after another, and it didn’t matter if a defender was in his face or hitting him on the arm,” The Post’s Camille Powell wrote.
“He’s too good to say you’re going to stop him,” Thompson said. “He has not been stopped all year.”
“Davidson beat Georgetown,” Davidson guard Max Paulhus Gosselin said after the upset. “That’s all I have to say.”
Hibbert, who played only 16 minutes before fouling out, said after the game that he had no regrets about returning for his senior year.
“I’m happy I came back,” Hibbert said. “I just got a chance to play with the best players in the country, and they’re all sitting in this locker room right now. I made relationships that will last forever. I have some memories that I’ll never forget. It’s just tough to see that I’m done. I’m done with Georgetown. No more games for me.”
Davidson went on to rout third-seeded Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 before falling to eventual national champion Kansas, 59-57, in the Elite Eight. Curry returned for his junior season, but the Wildcats failed to earn an NCAA tournament bid and lost in the second round of the NIT. In June 2009, the Golden State Warriors made Curry the seventh pick in the NBA draft. The rest is history.
Read more from The Post:
Georgetown commit breaks Allen Iverson’s Virginia high school scoring record
Mac McClung has dunked past Allen Iverson and will follow him to Georgetown
Loyola Chicago’s Sister Jean continues to steal the show at NCAA tournament
The Syracuse March Madness forecast: Cold, scoring in the 50s
Isaac Haas gets assist from Purdue engineering students, but he’s still unlikely to play
