One for the history books
Rarely in history have 17,142 people ever been quiet.
Ahem, especially at the Kohl Center.
The Bison went into one of the most hostile environments in college basketball and took down the University of Wisconsin.
A home loss for the Badgers is about as common as a UND booster giving Bison athletics praise for their “risky” move to Division-I athletics.
The Badgers were 68-3 at the Kohl Center under head coach Bo Ryan and have not lost there in their last 15 home games.
Raise that to the last 29 against non-conference foes.
The last time anyone walked in and handed Ryan a loss was last season from an undefeated University of Illinois team.
Illinois ended its season as national champion runner-up.
The prestige didn’t matter Saturday afternoon when a belittled NDSU team went into Madison, Wis., and whooped the Badgers in a game that ESPN said was the biggest upset of the day. Not bad for a Saturday that undefeated Duke, Florida and Pitt all lost.
As the Bison huddled around the “W” at center court after the game and the Badger faithful poured out of the stands, one would wonder, “is this the greatest game in NDSU athletic history?”
There is no doubt that this was on the biggest stage.
NDSU came from playing in front of 700 people in Utah just two days before to a rocking crowd of a number that is more than most of the Bison players’ entire hometowns.
Most anticipated a casual Saturday afternoon contest in which the Bison would receive a slaughtering, but would leave with a “great” experience.
A celebrity crew was on hand to watch it. The Wisconsin athletic department brought a former player to be the honorary captain. Legendary football coach, now athletic director Barry Alvarez, was sitting front row.
One of Ryan’s national championship teams from University of Wisconsin-Platteville even got together for it. Everyone heard about this game.
But greatest?
Are we going to throw all those national championship games under the table?
The Montana football game?
Four in a row for Amy Ruley’s girls?
“ Obviously we have had a tremendous history over the years,” athletic director Gene Taylor said. “We have won a lot of national championships. It is certainly bigger than the game over Montana. It is a historical win. People will remember this for years to come.”
So rather than labeling it the greatest, we can call it the most influential game in NDSU athletics.
This game is going to open many doors for Taylor and Miles, but may also shut a few as well.
“ It is hard to tell. This will probably make recruiting easier, but scheduling harder,” a sweat- and water-drenched Miles said after the game. “There is give and take to everything.”
When major colleges schedule non-conference games, they look for easy games in which they are certain to win. Teams will be a little more wary scheduling the Bison in years to come, as they cannot fathom a blow like the one the Wisconsin athletic department took Saturday.
“ They just came out and let it go,” Ryan said. “It has to help them to do what they need to accomplish. They have been on the road a lot. I would say it is going to help them tremendously.”