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Sasha Kaun scored 13 points, and Jason Richards' desperation three-pointer at the buzzer banged off the backboard as top-seeded Kansas survived over 10th-seeded Davidson, 59-57, to win the Midwest Region and advance to the Final Four.
Stephen Curry and the Wildcats had a chance, as Sherron Collins' missed three gave Davidson the ball with 16.8 seconds left. Curry took the inbounds pass and slowly made his way up the court, but couldn't get an open look at the basket. He was forced to pass to Richards, who was well behind the arc.
Richards put up a long shot at the buzzer that bounced harmlessly off the backboard, and Davidson's Cinderella run through the NCAA Tournament came to an end.
Curry scored less than 30 points for the first time in the tourney, as he finished with 25 on 9-of-25 shooting. The son of former NBA star Dell Curry struggled from behind the arc, making only 4-of-16 three-pointers.
Mario Chalmers scored 13 points, and Brandon Rush added 12 points and seven rebounds for Kansas (35-3), which won its 11th straight to reach the Final Four for the 13th time in school history, the first since the Jayhawks went to back-to-back Final Fours in 2002 and 2003.
The head coach for the Jayhawks then was Roy Williams, who is now on the sidelines for the North Carolina, the top overall seed in the tourney. The two No. 1 seeds will square off in a national semifinal next Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The Final Four is comprised entirely of No. 1 seeds for the first time in tournament history as UCLA and Memphis will square off in the other game.
Bryant Barr scored 11 points, all in the second half, for Davidson (29-7), which saw its nation-best 25-game win streak come to an end. Andrew Lovedale was held to six points and five rebounds, and fouled out with 2:20 left for the Wildcats, who were playing in their first regional final since 1969. Davidson has never made the Final Four.
Curry went cold for a bit in the second half, and Barr provided an offensive spark to keep the Wildcats in it.
An 8-0 Kansas push had given the Jayhawks some breathing room, and a three- point play by Rush put Kansas up 43-27 with 12:11 remaining. Barr drained three three-pointers on a 12-2 run, though, and his final trey posted the upstart Wildcats to a 49-45 lead with 9:26 left.
Kaun and Curry traded baskets, and the Davidson lead stood at 51-47. Chalmers broke through for a layup, though, and Collins drained a three to put Kansas on top, 52-51, with 6:32 to play. The baskets spurred a 12-2 Kansas push, and the Jayhawks led 59-53 after two Rush free throws with 1:15 remaining.
Thomas Sander was fouled with 58.7 ticks left, and made his first at the line. His second shot bounced off the iron, but Rush tipped it out of bounds, and Curry nailed a long three off the inbounds play to make it 59-57 with 54.5 seconds left.
Kansas ran the shot clock down on their next possession, but Collins' long three bounced off the rim and out of bounds, giving the ball back to Davidson with 16.8 ticks left. But unfortunately for the Wildcats, they could not follow in the footsteps of George Mason in 2006 as a surprise Final Four team.
Davidson succeeded in slowing down the high-powered Kansas attack in the first half, as the teams combined for only 18 points -- a 9-9 deadlock -- over the first 10 minutes of action. The Wildcats hung tight with the heavily favored Jayhawks, who led 30-28 at the break on a Darnell Jackson layup in the final 10 seconds.
Game Notes
Davidson made only 5-of-12 free throws (41.7 percent). Kansas wasn't much better, making 8-of-14 (57.1 percent)...The Jayhawks' 35 wins ties the 1998 and 1996 clubs for the most in school history...Kansas improved to 6-0 against the Southern Conference...Curry was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Midwest Region...This was the first-ever meeting between the schools on the hardwood.
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