Final score: # 14 seed NDSU Bison 74, # 3 seed Kansas Jayhawks 84. The Bison kept it close pretty much the whole game and if it wasn’t for a couple of bad turnovers the Herd might have pulled it out against the defending National Champions. Ben Woodside scored 37 and really took control for NDSU. Kansas likely won this game with their great defense against Brett Winkleman and really kept him pretty quiet for most of the day, even though he did have a double-double and with the rebounds he pulled down they made him the record holder for most rebounds in a career at NDSU. The KU Jayhawks, led by Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins in this game, were just too much for NDSU to overcome.It sure has been fun to ride with these guys this season, and even though I’m a bigger Wisconsin Badger fan than I am an NDSU Bison fan, I have learned a new respect for the smaller Divison I schools that usually only get one team in the Big Dance through a conference tournament championship. These guys work just as hard, if not harder than the big basketball schools like Duke, UNC, and Kansas, and earn their spot just as well as the big guys do.
Final record for the Bison is 26-7 with a season of a LOT of firsts! Ben Woodside becomes career scoring leader at NDSU, ties Pistol Pete Maracich’s record for most free throw’s in a game at 30, scores 60 in a game; Ben Winkleman is career rebound leader at NDSU, as well as the number one Academic All-American Player of the Year for all of NCAA basketball; the team qualifies for the NCAA tournament in their first year of eligibility by winning the Summit Conference Tournament, as well as winning the conference outright. I know I’m missing others, but those are the ones that come to mind initially.Even though it’s over—GO BISON!
