Davidson, NC -- (Sports Network) - The 21st-ranked Davidson Wildcats try to get right back into the win column tonight as they face off against the Winthrop Eagles in non-conference action in North Carolina.

Davidson, which became the darling of the NCAA Tournament last season, began 2008-09 with a couple of softballs on the schedule in Guilford and James Madison, beating both of those squads by a combined 59 points. On Tuesday, the competition took a leap in the opposite direction with 12th-ranked Oklahoma entertaining the Wildcats in Norman as part of the NIT Season Tip-Off. The tangle with the Sooners tightened up near the end, but not so much that the visitors could stay undefeated following an 82-78 decision.

As for the Eagles, one of the dominant programs hailing from the Big South Conference, they easily dismissed North Greenville in the opener last Friday with a 67-42 decision, but then came an 86-63 loss to South Carolina on the road and a disappointing 72-58 defeat at the hands of the Akron Zips on Tuesday night in Ohio.

As far as the series is concerned, both schools have won four of the previous eight encounters, taking two games both home and away. The most recent of those contests took place last season as the Wildcats shot down the Eagles in a 60-47 decision near the end of February.

The Eagles shot the ball rather respectably all the way around on Tuesday night against Akron, but the problem was that the team turned the ball over too many times (17) to get enough quality shots in the air. Guilty of five of those miscues was Cameron Stanley, yet he still found time to knock down 5- of-6 behind the three-point line on his way to 17 points. Justin Burton tacked on 15 points and five assists, while Byron Faison chipped in 11 points in 19 minutes off the bench. Through the first three games of the new season only Burton is scoring in double figures with his 11.3 ppg. Trying to stir something up for himself and the rest of the starters is Mantoris Robinson who is shooting only 25 percent from the field because he's missed all seven of his three-point tries, is second on the glass (5.7 rpg) and first in both steals (seven) and turnovers (11), which means he's done more harm than good in the early going.

The game certainly lived up to its billing as the Sooners and Wildcats battled it out in Norman. The defense for Davidson allowed all-America candidate Blake Griffin to register a huge double-double with 25 points and 21 rebounds, but it wasn't as if Stephen Curry was simply a spectator during the proceedings. In fact, Curry lit up the scoreboard with a career-high 44 points, shooting 12-of-29 from the field, 6-of-15 beyond the arc and a perfect 14-of-14 at the free-throw line. Unfortunately, the only other double-digit scorer for the visitors was Andrew Lovedale who tallied 10 points, shooting a mere 4-of-12 from the floor. As a team Davidson had some issues with just 35.3 percent accuracy from the field. As if it were any secret, Curry is the one to watch with the Wildcats, already averaging a tremendous 35.3 ppg for a team that has generated 94.7 ppg. This team lives and dies from three-point territory, taking 89 of their total 209 field goal attempts beyond the arc and converting 36 percent. While Lovedale (12.0 ppg) handles the inside game for the Wildcats with his eight rebounds per contest, Curry is scurrying all around the court to come up with a team-best 22 assists and 15 steals, all with a mere eight turnovers thus far.