Posting Up

FINAL, KU, 59-57

Self burns a timeout with 36 seconds left and 17 on the shot clock. Trying to work to Chalmers, but Collins has to force a 3 that falls off the side of the rim. Davidson ball, down by two, with 16 seconds left. What to do? A 3 to win? A deuce to extend the game? I say keep an eye on Barr. Rush is on Curry. Curry couldn’t get a shot. Had to give up the ball to Richards, whose 25-footer missed everything. Rush’s length bothered Curry.

:54 seconds left in regulation, KU, 59-57

A gift - Chalmers intercepts a pass - OK, it was thrown right to him - and KU gets an easy deuce. Curry with consecutive bad shots, which is a rarity. Collins, the spark plug, buries a 3, and the Jayhawks are back on top. Curry might be tired right now, as he’s making some questionable decisions. But he can’t sit now. Another timeout. Curry misses badly on a 3, and Kaun drops in a bucket at the other end. Barr, who I assumed was a driveway shooter, puts it on the deck and goes glass for two. Arthur posts and scores. I think Curry has now missed four or five shots in a row. Momentum back to KU, or so it seems. Lovedale fouls out, picking up two fouls in the last minute. Kaun is at the line and he makes the first. He misses the second. Curry forces one, and it’s short. Huge possession for KU. Richards picks Collins as the shot clock winds down and Curry misses a wide open 3 - likely his seventh miss in a row. Rush is fouled and he hits a pair. KU is up by six. Curry misses again - and that’s eight. Sander is fouled. Made the first. The second is off, but Curry finally gets it going. Just when it looks like these guys are done, Curry hits one - his first make in nine tries.

7:35 left in regulation, DAVIDSON, 51-47

Barr - where has he been? - buries a 3. Ball poked away from Curry, ends up in Collins’ hands, who finds Jackson for a dunk. But Barr hits another 3, and Davidson is down one. This team is amazing. Turnaround from 13 feet for Lovedale, and he’s fouled. The 10 seed in the Midwest has gotten the better of the 1 seed for 30 minutes of a regional final. Can the 10 seed close the deal? Driveway shooter alert - Barr again with a 3. Bill Self is sitting expressionless on his stool. Now he’s standing, sweating a lot. And it’s not especially warm in here. Rush puts up an airball? The dudes in white are a little tight in here.

11:59 left in regulation, KU, 43-38

Lovedale is playing big. I thought KU would have a resounding advantage in the paint. The Jayhawks haven’t. Rush finally drills a 3 at 14:53. Turnover, and Mario has a clear lane to the rim - but he blows the lay-up. KU hasn’t much, if anything, from Collins, who bulls into the lane and is fouled. Collins hits both, and KU is up 3. Curry tries running Rush off a screen, and Curry is rubbed out. He stumbles and looks in amazement at the official. Rush smiles, and then Curry smiles at Rush. Nice moment. We almost had a catastrophe, though, as Curry ran to save a loose ball and ended up in the second row of media seating. We’re going to find out what Davidson is made of in the next few minutes because Rush just converted a three-point play, and KU is up six. Richards gets deep into the paint and draws contact with Aldrich. He hits one of two free throws.

15:51 left in regulation, 35-all

Awful sequence to start the half. Jackson is poked in the eye or something as KU turns the ball over. Meanwhile, Curry cans a 18-footer. Oh my. Stephen is getting warm. Kaun answers with a hook. Rush can’t buy a bucket. He has announced his intentions to go pro following the season, which means, if he keeps shooting like this, this could be his last game. I was just wondering why we haven’t seen any of those patented KU lobs, and Chalmers chucks one up to Kaun - plus he’s fouled. He misses the free throw, though. How many free throws have the Jayhawks missed? The second goes down. Rip Hamilton just rolled into press row, joined by some buddies, which includes, I think, Aaron Afflalo.

HALFTIME, KU, 30-28

Curry has the complete game. This is not a fluke. Mario has come to play, and doesn’t it always seem like he’s the guy who bails the Jayhawks out? At least it does to me, but I’m a casual KU watcher. Richards goes glass, but Mario gets two more. I guess I don’t see it with Darrell Arthur. Call me crazy, if you must. If not for Mario Chalmers, yikes, it would be messy for KU. Darnell gives KU the lead back. Rush is still struggling. Arthur at the line, misses the first. He cans the second. Curry is hacked shooting a 3, so he’s got three free throws. He gets all three. Jackson with a follow, but the Wildcats get back in transition and Sander scores. Flimsy offensive on Rush, by the way. Curry has 15 tonight, which means he has 118 in this tournament. Offensive on Shady. Danny Manning is on his feet on the bench, urging the Jayhawks on. Jackson gets a bucket with six seconds left.

7:56 left in 1st half, DAVIDSON, 17-16

Darnell misses a pair of free throws - and the scoreboard is messed up. Mario drills a 3. Curry comes off a pick and hits a 3, and he gives a fist pump. “There he goes,” a fan says. But Kaun responds. Man, how good is Curry? The drive with the left-handed finish, and then another 3. But Mario has a little game, too, no? Another 3 for Chalmers. In less than three minutes, we more than doubled the scoring. Curry has all eight of his points in that stretch.

11:03 left in 1st half, DAVIDSON, 9-6

Self has put Rush on Curry. Traveling on Davidson. Lob to Rush, who converts a lay-up. Another shot rims out for Curry, and then he’s short on a 3. Pace quickens a bit, but the scoring doesn’t. One too many passes for Davidson. Rush is aggressive and gets to the hole. But Richards answers with a drive of his own. Rush misses another 3. Davidson runs their stuff, which is crisp, but KU has the athletes to recover and neutralize. Curry with another miss, but he’s getting good looks. Sander hits a 3, and the Wildcats have the lead. Richards drives and goes glass.

15:49 left in 1st half, 2-all

Rush is short with a 3. Nice sound defense for Davidson. KU steal, and I think we’re going to see a lot of that. Lovedale gets the first two with the shot clock down to 4. Hmm… Mario misses a reverse but Sasha Kaun follows. Curry misses from point blank. Robinson with a charge. Hmmm… Lovedale from out of nowhere to swat a certain deuce from Arthur. Curry with a clean look, but it spins out. Brandon Rush has missed a couple of threes. Four total points in a little more than four minutes played. Hate to say the Jayhawks have come out a little tight, but I guess I just did. That, and Davidson is well-prepared and defends aggressively.

5:01 p.m.

Three 1-seeds are in, and KU could be the fourth, which means San Antonio would be off the hook. Or something to that effect. That was total stream of consciousness typing. Decent crowd here at the Ford. This city, at least where most of us were the past 24 hours or so, has turned pro-Davidson, which isn’t to suggest it was ever anti-Davidson. A sign in the Davidson section: “Davidson is Self-less.” Well, yes, the Wildcats are. There is no question who the crowd is cheering for. Some faint boos, but mostly cheers. Another classic sign: “Why not?” Random sighting - some man in a Duke jersey, No. 22. Who is that? Anyone have a clue? This should be fun. The Jayhawks look like they’re prepared to take care of business, which is what a No. 1 seed should do. Which is what the other No. 1 seeds have done.