FARGO — The photo was tucked away in the crawl space of his home in Maple Grove, Minnesota, but Mike Nelson found it, took it out and hung it in his office. It was of Nelson and former North Dakota State teammate Ben Woodside after one of the most important games in Bison basketball history: the 2006 upset at the University of Wisconsin.
Today is the 20th anniversary of an event that will never get old to all of those involved. Bison head coach Dave Richman, an assistant in 2006 who has seen NDSU’s entire transformation to Division I, likens it to the football upset at the University of Montana in 2003.
“There are those signature, defining moments where you still have some people saying you made the wrong decision by jumping up,” Richman said. “You can’t do this. You can’t sustain it. This isn’t right. It’s in those moments where you captivate everything where now … NDSU is becoming a national brand, a national program.”
Benchmark wins following the 62-55 win over Wisconsin included beating nationally-ranked Marquette the following year, qualifying for the NCAA tournament in 2009, beating Oklahoma in the 2014 NCAA tourney and reaching the Big Dance, in all, four times.
It started in Madison.
And perhaps it was most satisfying to those with Wisconsin backgrounds like Nelson and his parents and then-assistant coach Saul Phillips, a former assistant with the Badgers.
Dean Nelson, Mike’s dad, was a Badger season ticket holder since 1976. The Nelsons are from Madison, and Wisconsin had no interest in recruiting the hometown kid.
On Jan. 21, 2006, the family got the last laugh.
North Dakota State’s Brett Winkelman (22) and Andre Smith of NDSU grapple for the ball with Michael Flowers of Wisconsin as Joe Krabbenhoft, also with Wisconsin, try to gain control during the second half of the Saturday game during the Bison’s 62-55 victory in 2006.
Forum file photo
“For him to get recruited by NDSU at the Division I level and then to play against the Badgers was an unbelievable thing for our family,” Dean Nelson said. “When the day came, it was nerve wracking to say the least.”
The cards were stacked against the Bison on that day. They lost 82-56 at Kansas State two weeks prior. They not only lost 67-65 at Utah Valley State two days prior to playing Wisconsin, but didn’t play well either, shooting 39% and committing 15 turnovers against a beatable team. Then it was on to Madison and it was no easy off-day of travel.
The Bison arrived around 5 p.m. and couldn’t get into the Kohl Center for practice because the facility was hosting a hockey game. But Phillips was able to arrange some time at a recreational gym through a buddy of his in nearby Verona, Wisconsin, which turned into a “very brief” walkthrough.
Phillips did the advanced scouting work on Wisconsin and knew the Badgers “inside and out,” but there was no time to implement it into any type of game planning.
“We’re flying pretty damn blind,” he said this week.
The paranoia didn’t stop there.
The sports cover of the Jan. 22, 2006 edition of The Forum. Newspapers.com. Click on image for link to original story.
Phillips said he had a nightmare that night that the Bison scored zero points against the Badgers and were the laughing stock of college basketball.
“I woke up in a cold sweat going, ‘Oh my god, we’re going to get killed,’” he said. “I had seen team after team come into the Kohl Center and just get whalloped. That’s one thing that’s lost on it. We just didn’t beat a ranked team, we beat a ranked team that was historically dominant and ruthless at home.”
Phillips even called his wife, Nicole, at home that morning and said don’t bother listening to the radio call because it’s not going to go well. Not only that, it was an 11 a.m. tip, giving the Bison every excuse to be tired. But it was the Badgers who looked sleepy with Woodside and center Andre Smith leading the way.
“The Badgers came out looking like they weren’t ready to play and that helped,” Dean Nelson said.
NDSU started four redshirt freshmen in Nelson, Woodside, Brett Winkelman and Lucas Moormann and the junior Smith.
“I don’t think anybody really gave us a chance,” Mike Nelson said. “It was a tough day of travel to get there and it was a quick turnaround.”
The Bison jumped to a 30-16 halftime lead with the Badgers shooting 17% in the first half. NDSU led 46-28 with 7 minutes remaining in the game.
“I’m like, ‘Are we going to be able to pull this off?’” Nelson said.
It got testy, with the Badgers storming back cutting the lead to 57-53 with 57 seconds left. Woodside hit two free throws to make it 59-53 and Wisconsin missed five straight shots over two possessions. Woodside hit two more free throws with 10 seconds left to ice it.
Richman’s Montana reference was done. Ironically, the Bison football team had travel issues getting to Missoula for that game, its flight diverted to Helena and bussing to Missoula getting in late Friday night.
“After we won, I remember almost being in shock,” Mike Nelson said. “I grew up being a huge Badger fan going to games and they never gave me a shot to go there, there was a lot to take in at that moment. Being able to take them down was unbelievable.”
The early game meant ESPN aired the upset the rest of the day. Head coach Tim Miles was a frequent guest of national outlets. Woodside finished with 24 points and Smith 16 points and 13 rebounds.
“It was so improbable considering our roster composition, we had a bunch of freshmen out there, they were redshirts but still freshmen,” Phillips said. “That was the moment where any talk of the basketball program being able to compete at the Division I level; I didn’t know we could beat Wisconsin but I knew we could compete. I know at that point no one was questioning the move for Division I basketball anymore.”
North Dakota State’s Andre Smith pushes past Alando Tucker of Wisconsin as he looks for room to shoot during the Bison’s 62-55 victory over Wisconsin in 2006.
Forum file photo
North Dakota State guard Ben Woodside chases down a loose ball during the Bison’s 62-55 victory over Wisconsin in 2006.
Forum file photo
The sports cover of the Jan. 22, 2006, edition of The Forum.
Newspapers.com
Jeff Kolpack, the son of a reporter and an English teacher, and the brother of a reporter, worked at the Jamestown Sun, Bismarck Tribune and since 1990 The Forum, where he’s covered North Dakota State athletics since 1995. He has covered all 10 of NDSU’s Division I FCS national football titles and has written four books: “Horns Up,” “North Dakota Tough,” “Covid Kids” and “They Caught Them Sleeping: How Dot Reinvented the Pretzel.” He is also the radio host of “The Golf Show with Jeff Kolpack” April through August.