BY RODERICK BOONE
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Serious apologies ladies and gents. We were having problems with the wireless internet here at the RBC Center. But the arena's tech people got us back in the game.
The first of four games today turned out to be as good a one as I thought it would be. Gonzaga and Davidson played in a tight one and the most of the fans were pulling for Davidson, whose campus is about a 2 1/2 half hour drive south of here on I-85.
"It was a lot of fun," Davidson's Stephen Curry said. "They were in the game and loud the whole time. It's just a benefit of being close to home and that's why were happy to be in Raleigh. It was just kind of a fun game to play in with the atmosphere. It's a pleasure to play in front of our home fans and maybe turn some locals or other tteam's fans in support of us."
Curry threw in threes from all over the court. He was unbelievable and who knows where his team would be if it wasn't for him. He scored 40 points, 30 coming in the second half, and was the best player on the court in No. 10 Davidson's 82-76 win over No. 7 Gonzaga.
Man what a game. Leaves you almost breathless. It's games like these that make the NCAA Tournament what it is.
"That was a great college basketball game," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.
Tell you what: I was really impressed with Gonzaga freshman Austin Daye. At 6-10, he can pose serious matchup problems. He's still raw and didn't have his best game. He's long and lanky but can still shoot from the perimeter. He didn't play his best down the stretch and missed a big three that could have tied it in the final minute. Few was happy with his aggressiveness, though, and I'm sure is looking forward to working with Daye as much as he's allowed to in the offseason.
But if Daye does work hard at bettering his game and putting on some weight to his 190-pound frame, he can be a real force for Zags over the next couple of seasons.