ESPN, Sports Illustrated shine spotlight on Bison
Unthinkable upset over No. 13 Wisconsin, 62-55
ESPN nominated it as the greatest upset of the day.
When the dust settles at the end of the year, when all factors have been considered, it may be the greatest upset of the season.
Little-known, first-year, transitional Division-I NDSU flew into Madison and faced off against a Big Ten juggernaut, the University of Wisconsin.
The Badgers have made the NCAA tournament in each of the past four seasons and are a year removed from a trip to the Elite Eight.
The Bison won’t be eligible for postseason play until the tournament in 2009.
So when David struck Goliath, the value was far beyond intrinsic. Head coach Tim Miles fielded interviews from Sports Illustrated, ESPN.com writer Andy Katz and ESPN Radio.
SportsCenter flashed highlights. Star NCAA analysts Dickie Vitale and Digger Phelps recapped the upset. The nation polled online if it was a greater upset than Duke’s loss.
Hysteria settled in all because the youngest team in America pulled off an upset over No. 13 Wisconsin on its home court.
A feat that has happened only three times in the 71 previous home games under head coach Bo Ryan.
Because of that game, “Our phones have just been ringing off the hook with calls from alumni, fans and friends,” NDSU President Joseph Chapman told ESPN. “And people outside the university want to know where these Bison come from and who they are.”
Early Saturday afternoon, after the game clock in the Kohl Center ticked to zeros, the score read 62-55 in favor of the Bison.
A crowd of 17,142 fans departed in silence.
“ No one expected this except ourselves,” Woodside said. “Just the experience of playing at the Kohl Center would have been great, but winning — I wouldn’t trade this for anything.”
With the Bison lead dwindling in the final minutes, Woodside went 6-6 from the foul line when the rest of the team couldn’t buy a make.
Minus Woodside, NDSU went 2-11 from the charity stripe, a statistic that does not ordinarily equal success in basketball.
“ Everytime they put Woody on the line, it made me feel a little better,” junior forward Andre Smith said. “Those were the longest minutes of my life.”
Ryan, owner of the highest-winning percentage among active coaches in the NCAA, was equally impressed with the guard’s game.
“He’s a good player,” Ryan said. “We got some other guys to miss some free throws, but not him.”
In the opening minutes, NDSU seemed to be suffering from jet lag as the team hit one of its first nine shots.
The Bison last played Thursday in Orem, Utah, and spent their day traveling to Madison, Wis.
With 11:33 remaining in the first half, Woodside hit a jump shot, made a steal and drained a three-pointer to jumpstart a 16-3 Bison run and put them up for good.
“ Our strong defense led into our offense, and that’s what got that run going for us,” Woodside said.
He finished with 24 points.
The Badgers shot 16-72 from the field in the game.
Alando Tucker, Badger Preseason John Wooden Award candidate, went 2-18.
As the shots clanked off the rim, Smith grabbed them. The 6-foot-7-inch forward ruled the paint with a game-high 13 rebounds and 16 points, despite matching up with Wisconsin’s 6-foot-11-inches Brian Butch and 6-foot-10-inches Jason Chappell.
“ Coach said we had to dominate the paint, which was one of the things we talked about before the game,” Smith said. “Get the rebound and go down and score.”
Bison forward Brett Winkelman chipped in with 12 rebounds.
The Badgers couldn’t seem to crack the Bison lead.
Ryan slowly transformed from a casual onlooker to a frantic pacer on the sidelines as the game time dwindled down.
The crowd was anxious as though everyone was waiting for Wisconsin to explode, but it never happened.
The Badgers, who have a field goal percentage of 46 on the year, went from shooting a miserable 17 percent in the first half to 25 percent in the second.
NDSU consistently held a firm lead until about six minutes were left and foul trouble caught up.
Winkelman was handcuffed with four fouls, Woodside also was whistled for four and with 2:32 seconds left, Smith fouled out, leaving NDSU with an undersized lineup.
Wisconsin’s Kammron Taylor, who led the Badgers all night and finished with 19 points, made a three-pointer to bring his team within four with under a minute to play. However, immediately after the shot, he committed his fifth foul, removing him from the action.
Taylor’s exit signaled the Badgers to the foul game.
Woodside confidently drained shots as if he was in his Albert Lea driveway.
“ I don’t think about anything really, I just get up there and do my routine and think that I am going to hit it,” Woodside said of his memorable free throws.