Stephen Curry never had a game like this.
The nation’s leading scorer was held without a point as Loyola, Md. employed a triangle-and-2 defense against Curry with both defenders on him. Despite Curry going scoreless, the game was never in doubt as 24th-ranked Davidson routed Loyola 78-48 on Tuesday night.
“It seemed to me they were willing to risk the game at the expense of locking Steph up,” Davidson coach Bob McKillop said. “When you put two people on somebody and you do it for 30 minutes and at the end of the game, you have to wonder what the reasons for that are.”
Curry, the darling of last season’s NCAA tournament, had scored a career-high 44 points in a loss at Oklahoma this month. He followed that up with games of 30 and 39 points.
“If Oklahoma can’t stop him, how is Loyola College going to stop him?” Loyola coach Jimmy Patsos asked.
Loyola found a way to contain Curry, they just couldn’t guard anybody else.
thern 68; No. 17 Florida 86, Washington 84; No. 20 Villanova 71, Monmouth 48; and Syracuse 89, No. 22 Kansas 81, OT.
In Davidson, N.C., it didn’t take long for Curry to figure out the strategy. He spent some possessions just standing in the corner with two defenders around him while his teammates had a constant 4-on-3 advantage.
Davidson (5-1) proved it has other options, and the Wildcats often scored at will even if Curry didn’t reach double figures for only the second time in his career.
“We had to play against an NBA player tonight,” Patsos explained. “Anybody else ever hold him scoreless? I’m a history major. They’re going to remember that we held him scoreless or we lost by 30?”
Andrew Lovedale provided the muscle inside with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Bryant Barr hit six wide-open 3-pointers and scored 18 points for Davidson. Will Archambault hit three 3s and scored 13.
And Curry, coming in averaging 35 points a game, joked that he had the best seat in the house.
“Every dead ball I asked them how long they were going to do this,” Curry said he asked his shadowing defenders. “They really didn’t say anything. They weren’t very conversational about it.”
No. 1 North Carolina 98, Oregon 69
s Maui Invitational.
North Carolina (5-0) will play No. 8 Notre Dame on Wednesday night in the championship game. Michael Dunigan had 18 points to lead Oregon (3-2).
No. 8 Notre Dame 81, No. 6 Texas 80
At Lahaina, Hawaii, Luke Harangody had 29 points and 13 rebounds and No. 8 Notre Dame hung on in the semifinals of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.
Harangody, the Big East player of the year last season as a sophomore, was his usual force inside in a game that saw both teams combine for 49 3-point attempts. Notre Dame won that battle as well, hitting 11 from beyond the arc while the Longhorns made eight.
It wasn’t all great for Harangody, however, as he missed two free throws with 3.5 seconds left with the Fighting Irish leading 81-80. A.J. Abrams, Texas’ top 3-point shooter, got off a shot from just before halfcourt but it bounced off the rim.
No. 4 Pittsburgh 74, Belmont 60
At Pittsburgh, Sam Young scored 33 points despite not getting his first basket until more than 11 minutes into the game and Pittsburgh’s tight defense shut down Belmont’s outside shooting.
The Panthers (5-0) without sophomore center DeJuan Blair, who sat because of right knee inflammation. Blair, averaging 17.5 points, developed the problem after having 27 points and 18 rebounds during an 86-60 win over Division II Indiana (Pa.) on Saturday.
No. 15 Marquette 85, Texas Southern 68
Milwaukee, Jerel McNeal scored 20 points and Lazar Haywood added 18 to lead Marquette.
Marquette (4-0) failed to score 100 points for the first time in three games.
Deandre Hall led Texas Southern (0-4) with 19 points.
No. 17 Florida 86, Washington 84
At Kansas City, Mo., Nick Calathes scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half and Florida held off a late rally in the consolation game of the CBE Classic.
Florida (4-1) had been in a slump from the perimeter, shooting 8-of-39 from 3-point range the previous two games. The Gators were much better against Washington, hitting 11-of-22 from beyond the arc and shooting 52 percent overall.
Washington (2-3) was led by Jon Brockman’s 22 points.
No. 20 Villanova 71, Monmouth 48
At Villanova, Pa., Dante Cunningham scored 19 points, Corey Stokes added 18 and Villanova extended its win streak to four.
Shane Clark added 10 points for the Wildcats (4-0), who won their 19th straight game at The Pavilion.
Villanova was without junior center Casiem Drummond, who was suspended for one game for disciplinary reasons. Villanova coach Jay Wright described the infraction as a minor issue and said Drummond will practice Wednesday.
Yaniv Simpson scored 11 points for Monmouth (0-5).
Syracuse 89, No. 22 Kansas 81, OT
lation, helping Syracuse win the CBE Classic championship game.
Syracuse (4-0) trailed by 13 early in the second half, then rallied behind hot shooting and a pressure defense to set up Flynn’s shot at the end of regulation.
Sherron Collins led Kansas (3-1) with 21 points.
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