by David Cassilo / @dcassilo
Davidson got its biggest win Monday night since Stephen Curry was hooping it up for the Wildcats, as it knocked off No. 11 Kansas 80-74 in Kansas City.
It was Kansas who knocked off Davidson in the Elite Eight three years ago, but the Wildcats got some revenge on Monday. This year’s version of Curry was Nik Cochran, a 6-3 junior who tallied 21 points, including shooting 4-for-5 from long range. Cochran’s three-pointer with 1:36 to push the lead to six points essentially iced the game.
Davidson fell to No. 7 Duke and Vanderbilt earlier in the season, but it finally got a win to show the magic is back for the Wildcats. But while the difference in ranking was apparent, Kansas head coach Bill Self did not view the loss as an upset.
From The Kansas City Star:
“We have to be sharp every night we play,” Self said. “There’s not as much margin for error. I don’t know if this team is mature enough to understand that we have to play really well to beat the teams that maybe they don’t think are our equals, which is total crap. This team was our equal. We knew that coming in, but we certainly didn’t play like it tonight.”
The lone bright spot in the game for the Jayhawks was another monster performance from Thomas Robinson. The junior forward posted 21 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. As conference play winds down, Robinson is a candidate for National Player of the Year, averaging 18.1 ppg and 12.1 rpg.
