NEWS

Reed Bailey in the game vs. Charleston Southern.

DAVIDSON WILDCATS (8-2, 0-0 A-10) vs. TEMPLE OWLS (6-4, 0-0 AMERICAN)

SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: Temple leads, 2-1
First Meeting: Dec. 19, 1967 | Davidson won 63-60
Last Meeting: Dec. 1, 2019 | Temple won 66-53
Davidson Record at Home: 1-0
Davidson Record on Road: 0-0
Davidson Record at Neutral Site: 0-2
Matt McKillop‘s Record: 0-0

WILDCAT SCRATCHES
• The Wildcats are off to their best 10-game start in the Matt McKillop era with an 8-2 record heading into Wednesday’s game at Temple. The match up marks Davidson’s second true road game of the year.
• So far this year, Davidson’s big three – Reed Bailey, Connor Kochera and Bobby Durkin – are averaging 18.2, 16.3 and 14.6 points per game, respectively.
• Zach Laput and Roberts Blums have aided the offensive effort, averaging 7.3 and 7.5 points per game, respectively, in the first 10 games of their Davidson careers.
• Davidson’s Bobby Durkin currently ranks first in the Atlantic 10 in 3-point percentage (41.4%) and second in 3-pointers per game (3.00).
• Starting five-man Sean Logan sits top-5 in the A-10 with 17 blocked shots this year. His 1.7 blocked shots per game is also good for fifth-best among the league.

IN BLUMS
• Davidson guard Roberts Blums has been named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, the league announced Monday. The weekly honor is the first for Blums and the Wildcats this season.
• In a 2-0 week, Blums averaged 12.5 points, 1.5 assists and one rebound per game, while shooting 47.4 percent from the floor and 43.8 from 3-point range (7-of-16).
• The freshman from Latvia scored a season-best 13 points in the 75-71 win over Charlotte Dec. 10, then scored 12 in Saturday’s 86-51 win over Detroit Mercy. Saturday, he hit a season-high four treys.

FACTS, FIGURES & FINDINGS
• Reed Bailey’s 18.2 points per game ranks top-4 in the A-10, while his 52 made free throws checks in at 37th nationally.
• Connor Kochera (10th) and Bobby Durkin (18th) also sit top-20 among the league’s leading scorers.
• Davidson is 6-0 this season when four ‘Cats reach double-figures in scoring.
• The ‘Cats rank among the nation’s best in assist/turnover ratio (15th/1.73).

LET’S TALK LAPUT
• Shooting 45 percent from the floor this season, fifth year transfer Zach Laput helped seal the win over crosstown rival Charlotte with a 3-pointer from the right wing to push a two-point lead to five with 42.8 seconds left. That sequence came one possession after he secured his fifth offensive board of the night to set up Connor Kochera’s insurance free throws. Laput leads the ‘Cats with 20 offensive rebounds this season.

PARADISE RECAP
• The Wildcats went 1-2 in the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis down in Paradise Island.
• Davidson picked up a 69-58 victory over Providence, which previously received votes in the AP Top 25 (11/25, 3 votes), and fell to No. 24 Arizona and No. 3 Gonzaga in the premier multi-team event.
• It’s the third-straight season in which Matt McKillop‘s Wildcats have earned an MTE victory.
• Connor Kochera (16.67 ppg) and Reed Bailey (15.33 ppg) ranked among the top-15 scorers in the event, while Bobby Durkin ranked fifth in the tournament in three-point shooting (9 3FG/3.00 per game).
• Against the Friars, Kochera recorded his second straight 20-point outing and third of the season, as the fifth-year senior finished 7-of-10 from the floor and 8-of-11 at the stripe.