DAVIDSON GUARD Stephen Curry, the son of former NBA star Dell Curry, put on a show for record-crowds last weekend during the NCAA Midwest Regional Tourment at Ford Field.  Curry scored 33 points Friday night in the Wildcats win over Wiscounsin and followed that with 25 points in Davidson's loss to Kansas. - Dan Graschuck photo
The Motor City, with the University of Detroit Mercy serving as host media coordinators, produced a four-day NCAA basketball extravaganza that should likely put Detroit in the regular rotation for future NCAA Regional and Final Four contests.

Detroit established two NCAA records: A single-session preliminary round as the Davidson and Kansas contest saw 57,563 come through the turnstiles, and a total attendance record of 114,591 set a new NCAA mark for any regional series.

By the time the Midwest Regional title game commenced all the other Final Four tickets had been punched: in the South (Memphis), East (North Carolina) and West (UCLA).

All of the No. 1 seeds had made it to the Final Four. If Kansas could beat Davidson, it would be the first time in NCAA history that all four top seeds advanced to the title game.

When Davidson (29-7) and Kansas (35-3) finally laced up their sneakers, the eyes of all college basketball watchers were on Detroit.

Would David(son) slay Goliath? Or would Kansas re-write that Biblical tale?

There was no fairy tale to be had on this Sunday evening in Detroit.

In all the other Regional title games, the No. 1-seeded teams crushed the upstarts, but Kansas had to claw and scrap to overcome the pesky Davidson Wildcats, 59-57.

“We are part of history,” said Kansas guard Mario Chalmers, who tossed in a team-high 13 points. “This is the first time all the No. 1’s have made it to the Final Four. We knew coming into the game that the other teams had got there, so it put pressure on us to get it done.”

The Jayhawks’ close win ended Davidson’s winning streak at 25 games. It was the longest winning streak in the nation.

The game went down to the wire with Davidson in possession of the ball with 16 seconds remaining in the game. However, Davidson guard Jason Richards was forced to throw up a desperation shot from the top of the key and it missed the mark as time expired.

“Based on what Richards has done all year, I felt great when he took that last shot,” Davidson Coach Bob McKillop said in the post-game press conference,

With the game on the line, Davidson decided to let Stephen Curry bring the ball up the court. However, Kansas’ tough, trapping defense smothered Curry and he was forced to pass the ball to Richards.

“I felt good checking Curry with the game on the line,” said Kansas 6-foot-6 junior guard Brandon Rush. “We were switching on ball screens and we were ready for whatever they were trying to do.”

Noted Kansas center Sasha Kaun: “That was the longest shot I’ve ever seen. It seemed to stay in the air forever. I thought it would never come down.”

With over 50,000 fans on their feet and millions watching on television across the country, the ball did come down and Richards’ shot was wide to the left of the rim, sending the Kansas throng into a frenzied celebration.
Many questioned McKillop’s decision to have Curry bring the ball up the court – as opposed to Richards bringing the ball upcourt and putting Curry under the basket and letting him run off double screens to get free for a catch-and-shoot jumper.

“I stuck to the game plan and our system,” explained Curry, who was the darling of the NCAA tournament. “I tried to come off the screen and get free, but Kansas used their athleticism to get hands in my face and make it difficult for us to execute.”

Curry, who was held to only 25 points, yes, only 25, saw the Jayhawks’ collective defense hold him to 10 points in the second half and 9-of-25 shooting overall.

Curry, only a sophomore, was the star of this year’s tournament as he became only the fourth player to hit the 30-point mark in his first four NCAA Tournament games. He was selected the Most Outstanding Player of the Midwest Regional.

Dell Curry, a former NBA sharpshooter and the father of Stephen Curry, had to be in basketball heaven as his son almost took the little school in North Carolina to within 16 seconds from reaching the pinnacle of college basketball – the Final Four.

As is the case in sports lore, the underdog generally becomes the people’s choice. That was exactly the case at Ford Field as the over 50,000 overwhelmingly were in Davidson’s corner.

“This was a tough game,” Kansas’ Chalmers said. “When we came out on the court, I could hear the crowd was behind Davidson. But we knew we had a chance at making history (being the final piece in the No. 1’s puzzle) and we wanted to get Coach (Bill Self) past the Elite Eight.”

Ford field stars

The elevated floor and the incredible engineering that went into bringing the stands closer to the court was a genius move.

I remember attending the Final Four in New York in 1997. The game - won by Kentucky over Syracuse - was played at Continental Arena in the Medowlands in New Jersey. That was the last Final Four played in an arena, although first-round and regional games are still played in arenas.

With the popularity of the Final Four, the NCAA hierarchy declared that all Final Four’s would be played in domed stadiums. The last 10 Final Fours I’ve covered all were played in domed stadiums and the court was always placed in the end zone. The site lines were mediocre at best.

Detroit’s innovative positioning of the court on the 50 yard line probably will be the future configuration of Final Fours played in a domed stadium. Ford Field’s sight lines are like no other enclosed stadium. There isn’t a bad seat in the house and most visitors from all over the country agreed that Detroit set a new standard.

– Leland Stein