DETROIT — They really, truly aren't much to look at.

Their star, sophomore sharpshooter Stephen Curry? Slight, baby-faced.

Their point guard, Jason Richards? Nothing special.

Their other guys? Could've come from noonball at the local Y.

Davidson's own coach is the first to admit it.

"There's maybe thousands of fans that were at that game that said, 'I could play for Davidson,' " coach Bob McKillop said after the 10th-seeded Wildcats' 73-56 victory over the third-seeded University of Wisconsin in Friday night's NCAA men's basketball Midwest Regional semifinal at Ford Field — a victory shocking to everyone but the Wildcats themselves. "We don't blow you away with our lay-up line.

"I think we've become a pretty handsome face (during this tournament), but also a face that people can identify with."

The most recognizable of those Davidson faces, of course, belongs to Curry, who was magnificent yet again, scoring a game-high 33 points — "How can you not love the kid?" McKillop gushed — by draining 11 of 22 shots from the floor (including 6-for-11 from 3-point range).

Richards was fantastic, too, dishing out 13 assists (while not committing a single turnover) and adding 11 points.

"With what Steph is doing and what Jason is doing, I feel like a lot of people throughout the nation are getting behind us and the dream we're going after," junior guard Max Paulhus Gosselin said. "We're thankful for every fan out there that's not wearing 'Davidson' on their chest who cheered whenever we made a bucket. They want to be part of it. It's amazing. It's a good little story."

And it could get even better on Sunday, when the Elite Eight-bound Wildcats take on top-seeded Kansas.

"From when I first stepped on campus, I'd say, 'I go to Davidson' and people would say, 'Really? Where's that?' " said Curry, son of former NBA 3-point specialist Dell Curry. "Now we're on this national stage. To get people to recognize who we are, what we're about and where we come from, it's definitely special."

That's the perfect word to describe Curry. His defining sequence came midway through the second half, after Davidson had snapped a 36-36 halftime tie by scoring 10 of the first 12 points, only to see UW creep with 48-45 with 13 minutes, 46 seconds to play.

First, Curry drained a 3 after shaking loose from Michael Flowers. Less than 30 seconds later, he pump faked UW's Joe Krabbenhoft, who sailed past him in the left corner for a wide-open 3. After Richards nailed a 3 of his own, Curry hit another, with the shot clock winding down. Suddenly, Davidson had a 60-46 lead.

Then, the coup de grace: Richards fed a cutting Curry, who dispsy-doo'ed an underhand reverse layup while drawing Greg Stiemsma foul.

While Richards broke into a wide smile so wide he had to look away, CBS' cameras caught NBA superstar LeBron James rise to his feet at his courtside seat with a long "Ooooooooh."

America's new favorite team had itself a very high-profile fan.

"The (replay) screen up there is huge, and I actually saw (James') reaction, which was pretty cool," Curry said. "He looked like he was having a good time." Just like the Wildcats.

"It's not a surprise to us that we're winning," Curry said. "To be in the Elite Eight now, we've hopefully dropped that Cinderella tag and shown we can play."