Give the 49ers Credit

In the December issue, we ran a long story about Davidson College's mens basketball team. The story was not short on bluster, and it implied big things for the Wildcats this season, who are led by star guard Stephen Curry. We might have profiled the wrong team. So far, UNCC has had a better season.

Davidson has been a media darling because it returned every significant player from last season's 29-win team, and it was playing UNC, Duke, Charlotte, UCLA, and NC State in early-season matchups. Supporters were hoping that a  couple wins in that bunch would vault the team into the national spotlight. After losing a close game to UNC, Davidson even landed in the top 25. Briefly. Davidson lost all of those games, albeit closely, and also lost to Western Michigan. After squeaking by Elon last night, the team is 7-6 (although it is undefeated in its conference, the Southern).

Meanwhile, not only did Charlotte beat Davidson, it also beat Wake Forest. Last night, it beat 18th-ranked Clemson on the road. Despite low expectations before the season began, the Niners are 9-5 heading into conference play. Head coach Bobby Lutz has his team playing well. Props to him and his team.

It's a long season , though. It'll be interesting to see where these two teams end up come March and tourney time.