Wisconsin's Michael Flowers wants to leave Davidson's Stephen Curry 'breathless'

3/24/2008 4:45 PM

By TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press Writer

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Michael Flowers says he's been getting ready to guard Stephen Curry his whole life.

Flowers, Wisconsin's senior defensive specialist, likely will guard Davidson's star guard when the Badgers and Wildcats meet Friday in the round of 16 in the Midwest Regional in Detroit. The winner plays the survivor of Kansas-Villanova.

Curry comes into the game white-hot. But Flowers said years of guarding opponents' stars has him ready.

``At the end of the game I want him to be breathless and remember what team he played against and how hard he worked,'' Flowers said.

Davidson, a tiny school just north of Charlotte with just 1,700 students, has had a banner year. The Wildcats are 28-6, including a 20-0 mark in the Southern Conference, and riding a 24-game winning streak.

Driving it all has been Curry, the son of NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry. He's averaging 25.5 points per game.

The Wildcats had not won an NCAA tournament game in nearly 40 years before this past weekend and came into the tournament as a 10th seed.

They took down seventh-seeded Gonzaga in the first round Friday behind 40 points from Curry. The 6-2, baby-faced sophomore played giant killer on Sunday, too, scoring 25 of his 30 points in the second half to rally Davidson past Georgetown, 74-70.

However, No. 3 seed Wisconsin (31-4) isn't buying into the Cinderella label.

Coach Bo Ryan said Davidson is well-coached and called the upcoming game simply ``the next 40 minutes.'' Ryan promised not to change a thing in the Badgers' preparation.

Ryan says that before every game, but he means it. The Badgers didn't use any trick defenses in beating Cal State Fullerton in the first round or Kansas State in the second. That means Davidson and Curry can expect bruising man-to-man defense - Flowers' specialty.

Flowers said he's spent his entire collegiate career chasing scorers like Curry in Michigan State's Drew Neitzel, Indiana's Eric Gordon and former Illinois guard Dee Brown.

``Preparation for this game has been going on my whole career at Wisconsin,'' Flowers said. ``Hopefully, I was a good enough student of the game to make Curry react to me and make him uncomfortable and just discourage him from getting an open look.''

His plan? Identify and shut down Curry's go-to move and not let Curry beat him the same way twice. If he scores on spectacular shots, so be it.

``All my life my mom told me people are going to score on you and what not, but you just have to make them work for it,'' Flowers said. ``Whether he has eight points or 12 or 34, I would want him to say he had to work for every point he got.''