There will be no glass slipper for Stephen Curry this year. The breakout star of last year's NCAA tournament and a preseason candidate for National Player of the Year won't be repeating his tournament heroics in 2009, as he and his Davidson teammates fell in the Southern Conference semifinals to the College of Charleston 59-52. 

It's a disheartening end to a season that began with so much promise. Early this season, Davidson was ranked, had a number of nationally televised games and figured to be a shoo-in for the tourney. But the Wildcats were unable to take advantage of their high-profile schedule, winning just two games against teams in the RPI top 125.

With the Southern Conference ranked No. 20 among the 32 Division I conferences (and only that high because of Curry and Davidson) and the team's RPI hovering in the 70s, the squad knew early on that it would take a conference tournament title to make the NCAAs. Once the conference schedule ended, the hype died down and Curry went back to being an under-the-radar star in a low-major conference.

The team finished with an impressive 18-2 conference record, earning a No. 1 seed in its tournament. But after an easy win in the quarterfinals, the Wildcats were stymied in the semis by a College of Charleston team that had an identical 26-7 overall record (albeit with a far inferior nonconference sked).

Curry had 20 points on 5-of-18 shooting (including 2-of-11 from 3-point range). It is widely believed that the junior will enter the NBA draft (where he is expected to be a mid-first round pick) after the season, which will disappointingly end in the NIT.