Last look back at Duke

Barry Jacobs: McKillop actively sought to move up the professional ladder several times, as coaches are wont to do, only to be stymied by his relative obscurity and lack of connections. Now, at 58, his ability to weave smart, tough, aggressive squads from the lesser thread of mid-major talent is widely recognized, but overshadowed by fascination with Curry, the superbly subtle guard who plies the court with silent, relentless, efficient grace.

Perspective

Duke’s Lance Thomas: “That was probably some of the best defense we could play. And the game was still close. That should tell you how dangerous that team is.”

‘The Davidson thing’

Ed Hardin: With the nation’s sports fans taking a night off from football, the Duke-Davidson game was largely a live event made for ESPN and the 9,314 people squeezed into Cameron Indoor Zoo. The kids packed the place to see their classmates play Stephen Curry, the marquee player from Charlotte and the cherubic face of college basketball.

Paying attention

Luke DeCock:

Most -- if not all -- of the hype surrounding Davidson this season has focused on Curry, whose profile continues to rise with his scoring average.

But there’s more to Davidson than Curry -- maybe not as much as there was last March, but enough to put a scare into a team like Duke on Wednesday. There’s Lovedale, the French connection of Quebec-born Max Paulhus Gosselin and Will Archambault, the coach’s son Brendan, a backup guard, and another big forward, Steve Rossiter.

The mix isn’t as polished as it was last season, but it might be starting to come together at the right time.

Durham

Tonight

The guys on Davidson’s basketball don’t come to Duke to lose. But they do come here to get exposed. They come here to see how or if they respond to that. They come here to see who they are and also who they might be able to be.

Sometimes, McKillop has said plenty in the past, you learn more from losing than you do from winning.

This time of the year typically is where a Davidson basketball season starts to get interesting. There are enough games -- there’s enough data -- for McKillop and Matheny and the rest of them to start tinkering. What works? What doesn’t? Where to now? How to be the best possible team come late February and heading into March?

Those of us who watch can start to see a team emerge.

Going into tonight, though, I didn’t have a real good sense for this group. Was this Stephen Curry and The Others? Or was this a Davidson basketball team with a first-team All-American?

Well.

Now we know.

This is a team that can go down 57-31, with 14:33 to go, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

This is a team that can then outscore Duke 30-12 over the next 10 or so minutes.

This is a team that got rebounds from Andrew and Steve, threes from Stephen and Brendan, a layup from Max, a DUNK from Stephen, and stretches of stops against the nation’s No. 2 team.

With about three and a half minutes to go tonight, the score was 69-61, and it was loud as shit in here.

This wasn’t a game.

Then it was.

The guys from Duke had to earn this fucker tonight.

And the guys from Davidson left knowing that.

Some early advances

Tomorrow at Cameron: CBS Sports. Rivals. The Devils Den. Davidson. CHN. ESPN. Shelby. AP. Bleacher Report. Duke.

Wednesday in Durham

Want to go? Here. Or here. But not here.