Taking stock of just how good Davidson basketball is this season under Bob McKillop

The Davidson College men’s basketball team finished its nonconference schedule and headed into the Christmas break Wednesday afternoon with a 106-64 pounding of Division 3 Johnson & Wales.

The Wildcats (10-2) were playing less than 18 hours after their 79-78 victory Tuesday night at No. 10 Alabama – a victory that gained coach Bob McKillop’s team some national attention.

So here are four things we learned this week from Davidson’s two victories:

The Wildcats (obviously) are good

It’s not just Tuesday’s road victory over the Crimson Tide, which was Davidson’s first win against a Top 10 team since the Steph Curry-led Wildcats knocked off fifth-ranked Wisconsin in the 2008 NCAA tournament.

Nor was it the way Davidson rolled over a pesky Johnson & Wales team on Wednesday, putting 13 players in the scoring column.

But it’s also the nine straight victories, along with a season-opening romp over what has turned out to be a good Delaware team.

Davidson’s losses are to San Francisco (12-1) and New Mexico State (11-2).

“Today was an example of the kind of team we have,” McKillop said after Wednesday’s contest. Noting the difficult Tuesday night contest, a late-night flight back home, and then an early-afternoon contest, McKillop said the Wildcats “took advantage of the opportunity to play before their home fans. They gave it their all.”

Davidson has a deep lineup

Guard Foster Loyer, the team’s No. 2 scorer (15.2 points a game), was battling an injury against Alabama and was held to 11 points — although he added eight assists. So Michael Jones took over, hitting 8-of-11 from the floor and scoring 21 points.

Hyunjung Lee, the team’s leading scorer (18.0), scored 17 against Alabama, and forward Luka Brajkovic led the way with 22, including a key 3-pointer late in the game.

With the starters understandably fatigued Wednesday, McKillop gave plenty of court time to reserves.

They responded.

David Kristensen, averaging about 4 minutes a game, logged 18 minutes and scored a team-high 16 points. Styrmir Thrastarson, averaging 3 minutes a contest, added 12 points.

But they took a back seat to a familiar face to Charlotte-area fans. Chris Ford, a freshman from North Mecklenburg High, had played only 4 minutes all season and hadn’t scored or grabbed a rebound.

McKillop gave him 15 minutes on the court, and he responded with a double-double — 11 rebounds and 10 points.

On a feel-good afternoon at Belk Arena, three days before Christmas, Ford was the crowd favorite.

“Chris invests himself every day, in everything he does,” McKillop said. “He works hard.”

Eight Wildcats have scored in double figures this season. Davidson is deep.

There is work to be done

McKillop is quick to note that his team is not a finished product.

“We’ve got a long way to go,” he said. “It’s a journey.”

McKillop pointed to Curry, who recently broke the NBA record for 3-point field goals.

“Steph was celebrated around the world, but it was a journey to get there,” he said. “It’s not one shot, one game.”

The Wildcats are still working on their inside game, and the defense has occasional lapses.

McKillop said another key is attitude.

“Confidence is important, but it can’t be arrogant confidence,” he said. “It must be humble confidence.”

Next Thursday, Davidson hosts Duquesne in its Atlantic-10 opener. That launches an 18-game grind of tough conference opponents. McKillop said his team must improve during that run.

Davidson helped the A-10

The Wildcats’ victory at Alabama was a boost to a conference that needed it.

The A-10 in recent years has landed multiple berths to the NCAA tournament, and nonconference victories over highly ranked teams help raise the league’s postseason resume.

Dayton has beaten Kansas and Virginia Tech this season, and VCU owns victories over Vanderbilt and Syracuse. But Richmond, Saint Louis and Rhode Island have dropped multiple games to Power 5 opposition.

Davidson’s victory will help the A-10 in March.

By the way, the Wildcats were last-minute fill-ins on Alabama’s schedule. The Crimson Tide had been scheduled to host 21st-ranked Colorado State, but the Rams canceled due to COVID issues.

This story was originally published December 24, 2021 at 10:26 AM.