Davidson, Curry looking for a little help

If Davidson guard Stephen Curry doesn't get a little help, the Wildcats' stay in the NIT could be over tonight, when they play a second-round matchup at St. Mary's at 11:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

Specifically, Curry needs a some long-range support; no one else has been able to consistently hit from the perimeter. If someone does, that could loosen things up for post presence Andrew Lovedale and some backdoor cuts for other guys inside.

Davidson was clipping along nicely after 26 games, with an overall record of 23-3. Since then, the Wildcats have been 7-4, with the last of those losses knocking them out of the Southern Conference Tournament, an event they had been favored to win.

Curry has played in 10 of those last 11 games; he missed the loss to The Citadel with an injured ankle. Over that period, he has made 37 of 93 three-pointers, or 39.8 percent.

His fellow guards -- Bryant Barr, Max Paulhus Gosselin, Brendan McKillop and Will Archambault, with the occasional shot from reserve Can Civi -- have made 32 of 141 from beyond the arc, or 22.7 percent. Many of those shots have been open, as Curry draws defenders to him and then dishes.

And when Curry is off -- he hit 21.6 percent of his threes attempts in the three losses he played in--the Wildcats were in big trouble. The other guards made 19.7 percent of their long shots in the four defeats.

Those guys can shoot, but shooting is about confidence, and the group appears to have lost it at about the same time. Even in the NIT opening-round win at South Carolina, while Curry hit five-of-nine threes, his fellow guards were one-for-five.

Someone is due to heat up, and it couldn't happen at a better time than tonight. The game is late, but check this blog in the morning; I plan to watch it and blog at, say, 2 a.m.--Stan Olson