NCAA Tournament: Jayhawks hold off Davidson to move on

DETROIT — Kansas wore down Stephen Curry and plucky upstart Davidson with its size and strength, holding on for a 59-57 victory Sunday that put all four No. 1 seeds into the Final Four for the first time.

After Kansas' Sherron Collins missed with 21 seconds left, the 10th-seeded Wildcats got one last chance. Curry was double-teamed, could not get off a shot and was forced to pass to Jason Richards, whose 25-footer from the top of the key thudded off the backboard.

Richards dropped to his back at midcourt while the Jayhawks celebrated with a measure of relief.

"Fatigue was definitely a factor," Curry said. "That four-guard rotation they had really took a toll."

Kansas (35-3) moved on to play overall No. 1 seed North Carolina — and former coach Roy Williams — on Saturday, and UCLA and Memphis will round out the party at the Alamodome. Three No. 1s have advanced three times, most recently in 1999.

The win also rids Bill Self of that dreaded "best coach never to make a Final Four" label. Self had fallen short with three different schools, including last year's edition of the Jayhawks.

But this year's bunch had too much talent, depth and experience to be denied.

"Davidson is a good team. A lot better than they were seeded," Collins said. "Curry was tough. He does a lot of moves and was tough to get to, but we got there."

Curry, who became only the fourth player to hit the 30-point mark in his first four NCAA tournament games, finished with 25 on 9-of-25 shooting and was picked Most Outstanding Player of the Midwest Regional. His roommate, Bryant Barr, was the only other Davidson player in double figures, scoring all 11 of his points in the second half.

The loss snapped Davidson's 25-game winning streak, longest in the nation.

"We just forced him into tough shots in the second half," said Russell Robinson, who helped hold Curry to 4-of-13 shooting after halftime. "We didn't let him get into a rhythm."

Sasha Kaun came up with big baskets down the stretch whenever the Jayhawks needed them, and he and Chalmers scored 13 for Kansas, which ended the feel-good story of the tournament. Tiny Davidson, trying to become only the third double-digit to make the Final Four, simply ran out of gas in the stretch.