For the first time, the Bison men’s basketball team is going to an NCAA Division I basketball tournament. NDSU defeated Oakland University 66-64 on March 10 to win the Summit League tournament and an automatic berth in the so-called “Big Dance.”
Senior Ben Woodside was named the Summit League tournament Most Valuable Player, and senior Brett Winkelman also was named to the all-tournament team.
“I looked at the clock and said this is it. I didn’t do anything; kind of missed my moment,” said coach Saul Phillips during his post-game comments when asked about his reaction to Woodside making a jump shot with three seconds remaining to seal the win. “I just went back and kissed my wife and kissed my kids.”
Phillips added, “Right now I’m enjoying the tournament. I don’t care, you can seed us wherever you want, you can put us anywhere you want. We are in the tournament!”
The Bison, with a record of 26-6 and the Summit League’s regular season champions, are in their first season of eligibility for the NCAA Division I tournament.
Woodside is one of five seniors who redshirted earlier in their careers as the Bison started to transition from Division II to I. They were targeting this season, hoping to take one good shot at an NCAA tournament bid.
“As a team, we’ve worked hard to get this,” Woodside said after the game. “We’ll take it a day at a time no matter who we’re playing. We’re just going to enjoy this moment and when it’s time to get down to business, we’ll get down to business.”
March 11, 2009