Kansas did just enough to advance

DETROIT — Take a page and rub it between your thumb and forefinger. That’s the thinness of the margin, the infinitesimal difference in victory and defeat in games such as Sunday’s Midwest Regional final.

Davidson, the 10th seed and the fan favorite, came within a made 3-pointer of upsetting No. 1 seed Kansas at Ford Field. The Jayhawks’ 59-57 victory was sealed when Jason Richards’ shot was wide left.

Kansas swarmed Stephen Curry, the Wildcats’ sensational sophomore, who brought the ball up court on his team’s last possession. The final play that started with 16.8 seconds remaining was designed for Curry to operate off a flat screen at the top of the key.

“They switched and defeated the purpose of the play,” Curry said. “I was off balance and saw Jason was open. I wish it had gone in.”

Davidson coach Bob McKillop said that Richards had made similar shots during game simulations.

“He’s a guy you want with the ball in his hands in that situation,” McKillop said.

A guy. Not the guy.

Richards said he wasn’t going to play the “what if” game about the Wildcats missing seven of 12 free throws, of Curry’s cold streak (nine of 10 misses) or of other shots that did teasing dances on the rim before falling off.

“A lot of things have to go your way,” Kansas coach Bill Self said after winning his first regional final in five tries. “We caught a couple of breaks.”

Breaks. Bounces. Fortune. It’s all been said before but the NCAA Tournament — especially the Saturday and Sunday of the regional finals — is where the small things become huge.

Kansas at times appeared to be the elephant flailing at the gnat. An offensive rebound led to two missed free throws. Davidson missed two free throws but then Kansas turned it over, an unforced error.

Brandon Rush had a pull-up jumper bounce in and out; Darrell Arthur got the offensive rebound, was fouled and made just one of two free throws.

“Davidson muddied up the game very, very well,” Self said. “There was a five-minute span of the first half where there was some offensive flow, but that was about it.”

Kansas’ 30-28 halftime lead disappeared when Curry scored the first five points of the second half. He had scored 71 points in the second half of Davidson’s three NCAA victories.

Watching Curry was hypnotic, like watching the odometer on a cross-country trip. But his timing and accuracy that would make a Swiss watch envious broke down over the last 15 minutes.

Curry missed nine of 10 shots and eight consecutive 3-pointers before his 3-pointer at 54.5 provided the final points.

Davidson’s what-might-have-beens included a short jump hook from Andrew Lovedale that went ‘round-the-world on the rim. And with just over a minute to play, Richards made a steal and found an open Curry flaring to the left side.

It was a play reminiscent of Friday night against Wisconsin when Curry and Richards combined on a similar play during a spurt that won the game. Curry’s 3-pointer to halve a six-point lead, bounced away.

Self said he couldn’t believe the game was over. “I made sure to shake hands quick and get out of there before the officials put time back on the clock,” he said.

Davidson has lost three regional finals — two to North Carolina and one to Kansas — by a total of eight points.

“On the last play, I made the mistake of not telling our guys who to set the screen on,” McKillop said. “We will beat ourselves up about what we did or did not do because every play counts.

“The agony is that we came so far, smelled and touched and seen our dream, but haven’t fully embraced it because of one possession at the end.”