John Walters

Dead and buried? Not Davidson. The Wildcats and their velvety smooth shooting guard, Stephen Curry, continue to spoil us. Two days after overcoming an 11-point 2nd-half deficit to beat Gonzaga, the plucky 10th-seed from North Carolina recovered from being down 16 points to No. 2 seed Georgetown to pull off the upset of the tourney thus far.

As Easter resurrections go, Davidson's still is no better than second on the all-time list. Still, this comeback was only slightly short of miraculous. Georgetown, a Final Four team last season, was cruising early in the second half. Curry had just five points at the half and the Hoyas were leading 48-32 with a little more than 15 minutes remaining.

"I remember being in the huddle," said Davidson point guard Jason Richards, who would finish with 20 points. "I forget what timeout it was, but we were down 16. And Coach is asking us if we're having fun."

"Coach" is Bob McKillop, a well-dressed, well-groomed husband and father who will never be mistaken for a martinet or megalomaniac. On the eve of Davidson's opening-round game with Gonzaga, McKillop sounded less like a D-I hoops coach than he did a guest on "Real Time with Bill Maher". Reflecting on the fact that his roster has players from Canada, England, France, Nigeria and Turkey (as well as from Davidson, N.C. … but that's his own son, Brendan), McKillop wondered aloud why, if his players can unite to create a successful team in something as meaningless as basketball, how come we all cannot do the same in things that do matter.

But that was Thursday. On Sunday afternoon in Raleigh, basketball mattered. Very much. As they had against Gonzaga, Davidson waited until 15 minutes remained to mount their comeback. And suddenly Curry, who had 40 points Friday and five in the first half, willed the game to be his. Curry scored from beyond the arc with Hoya defenders either draped all over him or disbelieving that he would let fly from so far. The 6-3 sophomore scored by weaving through as many as three defenders — effortlessly, it must be said … or so it looked — on his way to a lay-up to put Davidson up by five.

In the end, it was not even that dramatic. Davidson, down 15 with 15:07 to play, led by as many as seven in winning 74-70.

Davidson's was far from the only comeback on Sunday. Miami, down 17 to another 2-seed, Texas, rallied to close within 2 before losing 75-72. Butler, down 13 to yet another 2-seed, Tennessee, led in overtime before falling 76-71. And Mississippi State, down by 11 to No. 1 seed Memphis in the second half, came back to tie the Tigers before losing 77-74.

It's one thing to return from the dead. It's yet another to finish the job. On Sunday, only Davidson came all the way back. The Wildcats are the closest thing to a miracle that March Madness provided us this weekend.

Everyone into the pool
So much for power conference hegemony. Thirty-one different conferences receive automatic bids to the big dance, and 10 are still represented in the Sweet 16. While the Pac-10 and Big East each have three representatives and the Big Ten and Big 12 two apiece, six other conferences still have a pony in the race. They are Conference USA (Memphis), the Sun Belt (Western Kentucky), Atlantic 10 (Xavier), Southern (Davidson), SEC (Tennessee) and ACC (North Carolina).

"What light through yonder window breaks?"
Late in the Memphis-Mississippi State game, Tigers forward Joey Dorsey stepped up to the foul line to shoot a pair of free throws. As he was about to attempt his first shot, a bright light seemed to shine upon him. An Easter miracle? No, just a lax usher at the arena in Little Rock, allowing a curtain to remain open and let in the sunlight. Dorsey made the free throw and then asked the referee to rectify the situation, which he did. Then Dorsey missed the second free throw.

Four schools who really impressed us (and it should come as little surprise that all four team's coaches have won a national championship at some level).
Some higher seeds have a habit of playing down to their competition level en route to the Sweet 16 (we're looking at you, Tennessee). Others jump into the fray as if they're auditioning for that Nike SPARQ ad. Here's a foursome most fearsome in the opening rounds.

Men's NCAA Tournament results Day four's games Bracket  |  Schedule EAST REGION Louisville 78, Oklahoma 48 North Carolina 108, Arkansas 77 MIDWEST REGION Davidson 74, Georgetown 70  |  'Nova 84, Siena 72 SOUTH REGION Memphis 77, Mississippi State 74 Tennessee 76, Butler 71  |  Texas 75, Miami 72 WEST REGION Western Kentucky 72, San Diego 63

1. North Carolina: Good luck stopping 'em. The Tar Heels are shooting a ridonkulous 64 percent from the field in their two wins. For comparison's sake, Utah State led the nation this year at 51.5 percent. Carolina now has the two highest-scoring outputs in the tourney (113 points against Mount St. Mary's on Friday and 108 versus Arkansas on Sunday) while winning by an average margin of 35 points. Granted, they've had an easier Tobacco Road than most, both demographically and geographically, but no team looks more complete.

Next up: No. 4 seed Washington State on Thursday in Charlotte.

2. Louisville: The 3rd-seeded Cardinals lost their final two games heading into the tourney, then unleashed their wrath in Birmingham against Boise State and Oklahoma. Rick Pitino's team resembled a swarm (a CBS analyst noted that it seemed as if the Cardinals always have seven players on the court) in winning by an average of 24 points. The 'ville is also connecting from beyond the arc at better than 50 percent (21-41) while creating 17 steals in the two victories.

Next up: No. 2 seed Tennessee on Thursday in Charlotte.

3. Michigan State: The Spartans were 6-6 since the beginning of February and you had them losing to Pittsburgh in the second round in your pool (which is one round farther than I had them going). Tom Izzo's 5th-seed owned Denver, though, jumping out to a 19-point second-half lead versus Temple on Thursday before winning 72-61. Two days later the Spartans sent Pittsburgh, as hot a team as there was entering the tourney, home by an 11-point margin. Six different Michigan State players have scored in double figures in the opening two rounds.

NCAA tournament coverage Slideshows: UNC | Kansas | UCLA | Memphis Beyond the Arc: Flip a coin to pick winners Updated tourney brackets  |  Slide shows Results, schedules, TV times, more They've got spirit! Cheerleaders  |  Mascots Women's bracket  |  Schedule  |  Scores   Discuss: Sound off on tournaments | MORE

Next up: No. 1 seed Memphis on Friday in Houston.

4. Wisconsin: Coach Bo Ryan won four national championships at Division III Wisconsin-Platteville before moving to Madison. The Badgers led the nation in scoring defense this season (54.6 ppg) and were their consistent selves in Omaha, allowing 56 and 55 while winning by an average of 15 points. They held Cal-State Fullerton to their season-low in points and then shut out Kansas State from beyond the arc (0-13). The Badgers are not All-Highlight Reel, but they get the job done.

Next up: No. 10 seed Davidson on Friday in Detroit.

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