Ten years ago you would have had plenty of people laughing over the thought of North Dakota State and South Dakota State playing on ESPN 2 for a shot at the NCAA Tournament, but that was exactly the case tonight in Sioux Falls. In front of a huge SDSU crowd, the Jacks are heading to the Big Dance for a 2nd straight year; eliminating the Bison 73-67. Nate Wolters was his usual terrific self; scoring 27 points, Taylor Braun was terrific as well; pouring in 23 but the Jacks contained Marshall Bjorklund and Trayvonn Wright to get the win. Here’s Jody along with Forum Sports Editor Kevin Schnepf to break down the game.
What was the deal with recruiting Wolters? I remember both NDSU and SDSU were in on him (didn’t Miles make a late push too?). you think back four years ago, SDSU was in the toilet and NDSU was winning the Summit League. in addition to everything he did against the Bison on the court, it’s even more tormenting to think that we could have had him in green and gold. if NDSU signs Wolters to replace Woodside they’d have had a dynasty in the Summit. the guy was a game and program changer for them and us.
Important to remember, Nate originally committed to Augustana in like Jan. or Feb. When he blew up at tournament time both NDSU and SDSU made the push for him. Don’t think he was too concerned about following Woodside; the kid competes and he isn’t the type of kid who would think about something like that.
wolters wasnt very interested in ndsu but at the last second chose sdsu
Wolters and his dad had some demands that could not be met and the BSA is not very impressive.
Nagy started recruiting Wolters in Wolters’ junior year at the state tournament. The Bison got on him in Wolters’ senior year, but Wolters went with the school that had been recruiting him longer and showed more interest. There could be other factors, but that’s the one I’ve heard most often.
Natalie wolters dad didn’t want his lil girl to have to live in the shadow of woodside said it’d be too much pressure and that he should switch his mind and goto sdsu.
True story.
WHY DID SDSU GET TICKETS BEFORE NDSU FANS DID? THE FIX IS IN AT SOOUX FALLS. JuST GARBAGE AND WE WERE HERE EVERYDAY……SDSU FANS ARE THE WORST RIVALRY IS HEATED
Sour grapes much?
Sam? Is that you? The only 40 yr old jersey chaser that I believe would talk like this….haha
By my count he made the dance twice by going to SDSU. Seems like his decision worked out ok for him.
Not every Bison loss is the result of a conspiracy. The tournament was fixed? Next you’ll say the refs were paid off. Looks like you’ve already started the childish name-calling.
Ever wonder why you’re not welcome on about half of the internet?
That might hit a little close to home.
Hey Sam, three things…..
-SDSU was supposed to be the one man team, but they got Dykstra and Fiegen going. We were the team that was one star (Braun) and four other guys standing around and watching (save Felt getting hot late).
We’re STILL stuck in the Dump (AKA Bison Sports Arena). No point in having sour grapes when we’ve not stepped up and STILL can’t finish the deal on the new Arena.
-How was that brilliant idea of yours to move to the WAC? Yeah, you know, the conference that NO LONGER SPONSORS FOOTBALL. Pure genius there Samuel.
Coaching matters!
There is a reason why Sioux Falls gets the Summit League tournament. For men and women, no one draws better than SDSU. I’m not talking about the tournament. I’m talking at their home games. Financially it makes sense to cater to the people who are most likely to come. If the Bison fans are upset about this, they should work on their arena and focus on basketball like they do on football! Oh, and I think the Summit League tournament tickets for next year already went on sale.
And Saul made some great adjustments for the second half. Just look at how the game really tightened up in the second half. The Bison made it close and nver quit. Once again, the Bison received national TV exposure on ESPN2.
I don’t know if this is the case with Wolters but Phillips has said he has lost recruits because of the BSA.
That’s a slam to the currebt players and recruits. Saul needs to look in the mirror and take blame himself for losing with a pretty good group of players. Have there been any signature wins in the last 3 years?
Saul did a great job and so did the team. Recruiting to the BSA is a nightmare. As far as the game last night the Jacks are a great team. They beat us fair and square. Ben Woodside is a great player as well but to say that Wolters would be afraid of playing in his shadow is crazy. The guy is going to be drafted by an NBA team! We hate when people are sore losers when we smoke them in football. Then we gotta be better when we lose. The Jacks won and would beat us 6 or 7 times if we played them 10 times. No shame the Bison played hard and showed up and gave the Jacks all they wanted. We will be good next year in both Football and Basketball. Let’s wish the Jacks well in the tourney cuz if they win it benefits our conference and eventually us. I was proud of the way the Bison played. Saul did a great job and if we ever get the BSA done he will recruit like John Wooden! Go Bison!
Great game all around last night. Bison fans should be proud. As far as next year goes, Denver is a team to keep an eye on. They are no joke as a Basketball program and have a lot of talent coming back. Might challenge the Bison for preseason favorite in the league, and will probably be the biggest hurdle next year to get to the Dance.
Agreed with everything you said here. Good Luck to SDSU!
Can’t wait for new renovated BSA. Should be a huge boost to Bison Hoops.
Does this loss make NDSU wait another year before someone ponies up the final $2-$5 million to renovate the BSA? I figure if the Bison had won that the money would have happened much sooner but now with the loss it will drag on forever.
Maybe NDSU needs to remind donors, alumni and fans that the BSA renovation not only results in a new basketball arena but two basketball practice courts, a new wrestling facility, a new weight room for all of the athletic teams (including the football team) and new offices for the coaches and athletic administrators.
It is past time to renovate the BSA.
Bison I totally agree with you and can only say I don’t know why they can’t get the last couple of million. With all of the success the Bison have had in all sports. I was saying two weeks ago that the Jacks just raised $34 million for their new indoor track/football facility. It will only be rivaled by UND in this region of the country. UND has great facilities and wIth Brookings, Vermillion and Sioux Falls upgrading facilities and Fargo/NDSU not being able to raise the cash you wonder if the athletic success will shift to the other Dakota schools. Go Bison!
Congratulations to the SDSU Jackrabbits! Good luck in the tournament!
Soooo… whats the word on the BSA?
Congrats to the Jacks. The biggest diference I saw in this game is that SDSU played better as a team. It was like Tyler’s team mates were expecting him to do it all while Nates mates were all contributing. I believe we will be dancing next year but only if everyone contributes for 40 minutes per game.
Still waiting for you to remove a slandering name
In response to Schnepf’s column today asking where all the NDSU fans were for the championship game: is it time for spring football yet??
I think many Bison fans have spent their money going to Frisco and in about a month have to cough up a good chunk of money for season football tickets. NDSU is and will always be a Football school.But I do think with a renovated BSA hoops could get a very strong following as well.
Thanks for the context on Wolters. Lets face it, Bison Basketball really doesn’t get that much support. If it had a fraction of football it’d be a near Summit dynasty. Four years ago we really had a chance to build something with the Fab 4, and yet we’re still stuck in the Dump (AKA the BSA). Even this year there wasn’t nearly the hype of 09 despite the fact we knew this was a solid team. If this had been four years ago no way the turnout is so small in Sioux Falls even if it had been SDSU. We had what, 3,000 fans get through a blizzard that year? I don’t get it either. Yes, football pays the bills, but nationally (aside from hardcore FCS communities like us, Missoula, Statesboro, etc), getting to the Big Dance, seeing your name on the board on selection Sunday, and maybe even pulling an upset gets FAR more national recognition than winning an FCS football title.
One other thought…..is NDSU looking into bidding for the Tournament? Stick it at the FargoDome. Yes, Sioux Falls does a great job with it, but it’s still worth a shot. This is where location (so far North) and not having UND in the league also hurts. If the (insert nickname here) were in the league it would be a little more feasible to hold a tournament here with TWO conference schools nearby. As it stands, there’d be now way to attract the tournament to Fargo with just one school that is the farthest north and farthest to travel to for all schools. Still, it’s something I would hope they’ve at least kicked the tires on. The money and atmosphere it would bring to Fargo would be second to none.
Ditto to both posts. Well stated and to the point.
They don’t bid the tourney cuz the Dome has the sportsman show and it is very lucrative and don’t want to give it up for a tourney that could be a one or two year thing. I agree it would be great and having UND in the conference would help with our bid.
Just a guess (all though this would be the dream scenario and not a slam dunk to happen), but if NDSU were playing for a Dance ticket, they’d probably be able to find a way to pack 19,000 in for it. That’d be pretty lucrative.