DETROIT — The task, while familiar, promises to get even more difficult for the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team.

Last week, the Badgers had to stop the nation's best player. Friday night, they will have to stop the nation's hottest player.

Oh well, no one said UW's journey through the NCAA tournament would be easy. But did it have to become a who's who of college basketball scoring machines?

Six days after eliminating Kansas State and freshman forward Michael Beasley, third-seeded UW will try to do the same to Davidson and sophomore guard Stephen Curry in a Sweet 16 game Friday night at spacious — and I do mean spacious — Ford Field.

In a way, UW's game against 10th-seeded Davidson, anointed as this year's Cinderella even though two lower-seeded teams also won twice, and Curry, the baby-faced sniper who has emerged as the tournament's biggest star, is fitting. If the Badgers are going to win two games and reach their first Final Four under coach Bo Ryan, they'll have to do it with defense.

Indeed, defense is UW's strength, its backbone, its fall-back position. After giving up fewer points — 53.9 per game — than any team in the country, the Badgers have supreme confidence in their ability to defend.

They might even get an assist from Ford Field, where the NCAA is experimenting by dropping the court right in the middle of the football field instead of using one end as it has done in the past at domes.

The raised floor and lack of background in the vast stadium could cause problems for shooters, especially those from a small school such as Davidson that seldom plays in large arenas.

"We're going to have to rely on our defense, like we have all year," UW forward Joe Krabbenhoft said. "You never know with this new arena — the background's going to be a little different — but you've got to be able to rely on getting stops. We've been doing that all year, so we're pretty confident.

"Obviously, we know that as you keep winning and progressing in the tournament, the challenges get greater and harder. Stephen Curry is probably going to be best guard we've played all year. That's not knocking (Texas') D.J. Augustin or (Michigan State's) Drew Neitzel, because they are All-Americans too, but it just keeps getting harder and harder. Our defense (has to) come up huge."

It did against Beasley, who scored 23 points but had just six in the decisive second half. Curry poses a bigger problem because he's on fire. In Davidson's two wins, he scored 70 points — 55 in the second half — and shot better than 50 percent from 3-point range.

Of course, UW has two things to throw against Curry: defensive whiz Michael Flowers and its increasingly tight team defense.

"They really play off each other defensively," Davidson coach Bob McKillop said of the Badgers. "They're highly skilled technically and very sound fundamentally as individuals. Yet, collectively, they work as five fingers on a hand. That's what makes them so effective. They can put tremendous pressure on the ball with one individual, knowing they have great support with four other guys, constantly alert and ready to help out if anything goes wrong."

It won't be easy, though. In his last game, Curry scored 30 on Georgetown, which led the nation in field-goal percentage defense. The game before, he lit up Gonzaga's tough defense for 40.

During the season, Curry faced every type of defense imaginable. So did the Wildcats, who think games against UCLA, Gonzaga and Georgetown prepared them for UW's defense.

"(Curry) has faced size, he's faced quickness, he's faced strength," McKillop said. "Of course, Flowers is a great one. ... We understand the challenge it will be for Steph and the challenge it will be for our team."

As for the stadium setup, the shooting background is probably better than advertised. It remains to be seen, however, if the crowd will become a factor.

At most regional sites, the largely neutral crowd often sides with Cinderella. But with the seats so far from the court, the only sound from the 60,000 or so fans might be the grumbling from those who don't think the quality of their view matches the price on their tickets.

UW won't count on that, though. With that defense, it won't need to.