Get To Know Davidson

NAME: Davidson College

LOCATION: Davidson, North Carolina (wow, this got boring fast.)

NO, SERIOUSLY, WHERE? About a 30 minute drive from the Charlotte airport.

FOUNDED IN: 1837

NAMED AFTER: Revolutionary War commander William Lee Davidson

ENROLLMENT: 1,720, or smaller than Marquette's current freshman class.

NO, REALLY, THIS IS A SCHOOL POLICY: Students take exams where ever they like and without faculty present.

For more than three decades, respect for the Honor Code has permitted Davidson students the unusual freedom of scheduling their own exams and taking them in any classroom of the college’s main academic building—unproctored.

Initiated in 1971, the benefits of self-scheduled exams gives students a significant stake in making sure the Honor Code is maintained throughout the academic year. President Emeritus Samuel Spencer made that point strongly in a 1979 memo, writing, “Because it is a privilege that students prize and want to keep, the self-scheduled exam system injects an element of self-interest which reinforces student support of the Honor Code as a whole… they are an added incentive to reinforcement of the concept of a campus community based on honor.”

ONLY IN NORTH CAROLINA: The yearly Freshman Cake Race.

NICKNAME: Wildcats

HEAD BASKETBALL COACH: Bob McKillop, currently in his 24th season.

BOB DON'T FOOL AROUND: He's the all time winningest coach at Davidson and has more wins in Southern Conference history than any other coach.

YOU MIGHT REMEMBER THEM FROM SUCH NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES AS: Sandblasting Bucky in the Sweet 16 of the 2008 tournament. Hey, look, video of the whole game! Thanks, NCAA Vault!

SO LET ME ASK: Yes, that's probably the reason why you're seeing so many people picking Davidson.

BUT THE REASON DAVIDSON WON THAT GAME: Is currently wearing a Golden State Warriors jersey, yes.

AND THEIR NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD SINCE THEN IS: 0-2, losing 59-57 in the Elite 8 to Kansas that year and then losing 69-62 to Louisville last year as a 13 seed.

BEST WIN THIS YEAR: Going by KenPom rankings, it'd be a 70-64 road win at #83 Richmond on December 29th.

WORST LOSS THIS YEAR: A 73-68 road loss on November 17th to the team ranked #297th, none other than UW-Milwaukee. Hey, look, highlights! Thanks, Horizon League!