Stephen Curry Versus Patty Mills Puts NIT on Center Stage

Stephen Curry. Patty Mills.

Two of the best point guards in the nation and neither of them are on the biggest stage in college basketball. Oh, well. It will still make for one hell of a showdown Monday night.

Curry captured the imagination of every college basketball fan during Davidson's NCAA Tournament run last season—dropping 40 on Gonzaga—another 30 on Gonzaga.

He followed this by leading the nation in scoring and helping his Wildcats to 27 wins.

Can anybody match this guy?

Well, how about the freshman who stormed the scene last season to get Saint Mary's to an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament?

Mills led the Gaels in scoring last season and was quickly noticed by the national media, when he dropped a Saint Mary's freshman record 37 points on then—No. 11 Oregon.

After his first college season, he captured the international stage in Beijing for the 2008 Australian National Team. He led the Aussies by averaging 14 points per game.

Most notably, he dropped 20 points on Team USA, while being guarded by NBA All-Stars Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Jason Kidd.

He then proceeded to return to California and lead Saint Mary's to a school-record 27 wins. All the while, he was injured for a month with two broken bones in his wrist until the West Coast Conference Tournament.

Both could be playing in the NBA next season but for now, they will settle for the second round of the NIT.

Monday night, the two teams will meet each other for the first time and highlighting the sold-out event is the Curry-Mills matchup. The two guards combined to average near 50 points per game, and both teams average around 75 points per game.

Both mid-major programs have the chance to make a run for the NIT Championship, and it would be a first for both programs.

The farthest in the postseason Davidson has ever made is their Elite Eight run last year. When Saint Mary's defeated Washington State last week, it was the first postseason win since 1959.

Both programs have something to prove to the Selection Committee and the public at-large about their teams. Saint Mary's was left out due to the injury to Mills, and Davidson was punished due to their losses in the Southern Conference.

Moraga will be raucous and much rides on this game for both teams.