Men's Basketball Opens Three-Game Homestand Wednesday

Davidson Wildcats (19-6, 13-2 SoCon) vs. Samford Bulldogs (10-15, 7-7 SoCon)

Date: Feb. 15, 2012 - 7 p.m.
Site: John M. Belk?Arena (5,223 capacity) - Davidson, N.C.
Audio: John Kilgo calls the action with Logan Kosmalski and Ken Hall on the Davidson Radio Network (1350 AM, 1450 AM, 104.7 HD3, online at DavidsonWildcats.com and mobile devices with Radio.com and TuneIn Radio Apps)
Video: Live on Davidson All-Access
Web sites: Davidson (DavidsonWildcats.com), Samford (SamfordSports.com)

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Layup Line
• Davidson opens a three-game homestand with a 7 p.m. contest against Samford Wednesday in Belk Arena.
• The Wildcats cap the regular season with three of their last four at home.
• It's the second meeting of the season between the Bulldogs and Wildcats. Samford won the first game 77-74 in the Pete Hanna Center Jan. 28.
• Davidson is 11-1 at home this season and has won 17 of its last 18 games in Belk Arena, dating back to last season. The lone loss came to Vanderbilt Dec. 7.
• Davidson has won 21 of its last 24 SoCon regular-season games, dating back to last season.
• The Wildcats are 12-2 in their last 14 contests but are coming off an 86-78 setback at College of Charleston last Saturday.
• The 'Cats, who were picked first in the South in the SoCon Preseason Coaches Poll, lead the division with a 13-2 record.
• Davidson has clinched one of the top two spots in the South Division and the SoCon Tournament bye that goes with it. The Wildcats' magic number to win the South Division is 2.
• Samford has won seven of its last 10, which includes a 77-74 home win over Davidson.
• The Bulldogs are third in the SoCon North Division and coming off an 87-78 home win over Elon Saturday.
• Samford is 4-7 on the road and 3-3 in road league games.

Series History
• Davidson leads the all-time series, which began in the 1992-93 campaign, 6-1.
• The Wildcats are 3-0 at home against Samford, 3-0 in the Belk Arena, and all seven meetings between the teams have come during Bob McKillop's tenure at Davidson.
• Last meeting: Samford's Will Cook hit a pair of free throws with 1.2 seconds left, and the Bulldogs stole a long Davidson inbounds pass to secure a 77-74 victory at the Pete Hanna Center Jan. 28.
• It was the first SoCon loss of the season for Davidson.
• Trailing 73-71, the Wildcats got a defensive stop and worked the ball into De'Mon Brooks in the post on their ensuing possession. But the junior's turnaround jumper was off the mark, and the 'Cats were forced to foul Connor Miller.
• He made both free throws with 6.9 seconds left, but Nik Cochran raced down the court and answered with a triple from the wing to make the score 75-74. Davidson fouled Cook with 1.3 on the clock.
• Brooks led the Wildcats with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Cochran finished with 18 points and seven assists. JP Kuhlman scored 14.
• Jeffrey Merritt led Samford with 20 points, and Drew Windler scored 15. Raijon Kelly and Miller netted 12, and Cook finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.
• The 'Cats dug themselves a 16-point hole in the first half, their largest halftime deficit of the season, after shooting 35 percent and allowing Samford to shoot 54 percent from the field. Samford led from the tip to the final buzzer.
• Last time in Belk Arena: Brendan McKillop scored 20 points, and Davidson held Samford to 23.5 percent shooting from the field in the second half to post a 66-56 win over the Bulldogs Jan. 4, 2010.
• Will Archambault finished with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Ben Allison collected 13 points and nine rebounds. Kuhlman tallied 13 points and five boards.
• McKillop was 7-for-11 from the floor and knocked down 6-of-10 from behind the 3-point arc.
• Bryan Friday led Samford with 16 points, and Josh Davis posted 14 points and four assists. Andy King scored 11, and Trey Montgomery finished with nine.
• Samford came out on fire from long distance and hit seven of its first eight 3-point tries en route to a 33-29 lead at halftime. The Bulldogs shot 52.2 percent from the field in the frame, including 7-of-10 from 3-point range.
• Davidson made some adjustments at halftime and after the Bulldogs extended their lead to eight points on a Davis trey early in the second stanza, the Wildcats used a 15-2 spurt to open a 46-41 cushion with 7:18 to play.
• McKillop ignited the run with three 3-pointers, Allison got a steal and a dunk and Kuhlman capped it with a 3-pointer. Meanwhile, Davidson's defense allowed the Bulldogs just two more 3-pointers for the rest of the contest.
• The 'Cats allowed just four Samford baskets in the second half while shooting 47.4 percent at the other end. Davidson also controlled the boards, posting a 32-25 rebounding margin, including a 12-7 edge on the offensive glass.

Claw Marks
• Ninety-eight percent of the 'Cats' scoring and 96 percent of their rebounding comes from juniors, sophomores and freshmen.
• The 'Cats have posted 20 wins under head coach Bob McKillop nine times.
• The Wildcats rank third in the nation in team free-throw percentage (.782). Nik Cochran, Jake Cohen and JP Kuhlman all rank in the top-10 in the SoCon.
• Davidson has made 20 or more free throws in 10 games this season.
• Davidson hit all of its free throws (14-for-14) against Duke Nov. 18, for the first time since 2008 (Appalachian State, 6-for-6). The 'Cats also made all seven attempts against Chattanooga Feb. 4.
• Davidson has used the same starting lineup in every game.
• The Wildcats have led at halftime in 21 games.
• JP Kuhlman has been named CoSIDA Capital One Academic-All-District and moves onto the national ballot for Academic All-America.
• Kuhlman has been named to the Cousy Award watch list. The award is given annually to the nation's best point guard.
• By defeating Kansas 80-74 Dec. 19, the Wildcats defeated a ranked opponent for the first time since topping Wisconsin 73-56 in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
• It was Davidson's first win over a ranked opponent in the regular season since defeating No. 15 South Carolina Jan. 16, 1974.
• It was the 'Cats' first win over a ranked opponent on the road since defeating No. 17 St. John's 88-84 Jan. 4, 1972.
• The 'Cats have won 30 of their last 33 against non-conference competition at Belk Arena and are 38-6 since 2003.
• Davidson has a 6-4 record in non-conference games with one non-league game left, a home tilt against Wichita State Feb. 18, in the Sears BracketBusters.
• Davidson did not give up a 3-pointer at UNCW Nov. 26 (0-for-3).
• The 'Cats' game against Georgia Southern Jan. 7, was the 300th in Belk Arena, which opened in 1989. Davidson won the contest 96-74.
• Davidson returned seven of its top eight scorers and four starters from last season. Players who accounted for 81 percent of the team's scoring and 87 percent of the team's rebounding are back in uniform this year.

Sears BracketBusters
• Davidson drew Wichita State in the Sears BracketBusters, and will play the Shockers at noon Feb. 18, in Belk Arena.
• The game will be televised live on ESPN2.
• The Wildcats have been in the BracketBusters pool four times, and have drawn a true BracketBusters game (televised game) three times.
• The 'Cats defeated Winthrop 60-47 on the road in 2008 and lost 75-63 to Butler at home in 2009.

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