DAVIDSON — Under fourth-year head coach Matt McKillop, the Davidson men’s basketball team is off to a strong 6-1 start to its 2025-26 campaign, positioning itself early as a possible contender in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
The Wildcats appear ready for a strong season coming off a 17-16 finish last year that included a 6-12 mark in conference play. Despite losing their top five scorers from that squad, McKillop’s revamped group has quickly latched onto a working chemistry.
Davidson, which is 4-0 at home in John M. Belk Arena, has averaged 77.7 points per game while allowing just 70.1.
With traditional A-10 powers such as Dayton, VCU and George Mason looming, the Wildcats’ start has them gunning for their first conference title since the 2021-22 season — also the last time the team posted a winning record in league play.
The early success has been assisted by the breakout performance of junior guard Hunter Adam, who has scored in double figures in four of his six appearances. It’s been a striking leap from his sophomore year, when he brought in fewer than four points per game.
This season, Adam has averaged 12.5 points while shooting 53% from three-point range, along with 2.7 rebounds per contest.
Guards Josh Scovens (10.6 ppg), Nick Coval (9.4 ppg) and Sam Brown (9.3 ppg) have also emerged as consistent scoring options, helping to create a balanced offensive approach that has seven players averaging at least six points per game.
That depth has allowed Davidson to distribute minutes more evenly than in years past.
“We’ve been pretty balanced with our minutes throughout the year,” McKillop said. “We always talk about big momentum. We always talk about rounds, but we’ve actually started talking about the middle four, which are those last two minutes going into halftime and the first two coming out.”
Highlights from the nonconference slate include home wins over Washington State (85-69) and Boston College (59-49), along with a gritty 62-55 road victory at rival Charlotte. Davidson suffered its lone defeat of the season on Nov. 23, falling 94-60 to Utah State in the Charleston Classic’s Lowcountry Bracket.
Just five days later, the Wildcats bounced back with a 90-74 win over North Carolina A&T, a game played without Adam, who missed time with an injury.
“I thought our offense was really strong tonight,” McKillop said following the win. “We scored in so many different ways, whether it was on off-ball screens, ball screens, going inside, going inside to then deliver passes. As far as the work our guys put in this week to be ready for today, I’m really pleased.”
In Adam’s absence, Scovens led the way with 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while Brown added 13 points. Freshman Ian Platteeuw, a 7-foot forward from Spain, delivered his best games yet, tallying 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
“I think we got punched in the face on Sunday, and we had a bad taste in our mouth all week,” Scovens said. “You can tell through practice and through this game, in a sense. So we came out and it was all about how we responded. Matt told us the whole time that this game is just about how you respond. What’s our identity? I think we showed it tonight.”
Scovens, a transfer from Army, was the Black Knights’ second-leading scorer last season with 15.2 points per game. With an average of 14 points across his past three performances, he said his transition to Davidson has been focused on leadership and consistency.
“I’ve been looking at this season as just trying to catch a rhythm,” Scovens said. “It’s a great environment, but a new environment, so it’s kind of getting used to new play. I think my role on the team as a captain is to just be a leader on whatever it takes, day in and day out. I try to lead and be a dog every day. That’s kind of my identity.”
The Wildcats’ A-10 schedule begins Dec. 30 with a home matchup against Duquesne, but their early-season resume is already generating attention. McKillop’s squad has shown steady improvement on the boards, tighter perimeter defense and the kind of balanced scoring that has defined a Davidson program that holds a 54.8% winning percentage since 1908.
Davidson will host The Citadel on Thursday and Saint Mary’s on Sunday afternoon, stacking up two more nonconference tests that could further solidify the Wildcats’ success as the season takes shape.
