60 points is rare air
Posted: Sunday, December 14, 2008 8:41 PM
Filed Under:
Mid-majors, Scoring outbursts
Spent Friday and Saturday moving. Emerged from a no-news cocoon Sunday morning, only to read in wonder about Ben Woodside’s monster Friday night.
Man, 60 points. And I thought I was busy.
The senior guard tied an NCAA record by hitting 30-of-35 free throws in a 112-111 loss triple overtime loss. It tied a mark by – who else? – LSU’s Pete Maravich and was the highest point total by a D-I player since Arizona State’s Eddie House dumped 61 on Cal.
"Woodside's performance was absolutely phenomenal," North Dakota State coach Saul Phillips said. "He really played well and he played hard. We certainly saw something special tonight.”
Woodside’s scoring outburst grabbed some national attention Saturday. He received a phone call from ESPN’s Jimmy Dykes and was lauded by Seth Davis and Fran Fraschilla. No surprise there. We love scoring.
Some historic nuggets on high-scoring nights:
-
Woodside is the 19th D-I player to score at least 60 points against a D-I foe and the first since House. Pistol Pete topped 60 four times, with a high of 69 vs. Alabama in 1970. Only U.S. International’s Kevin Bradshaw has broken 70.
-
Sixty has been broken 25 times in all – including seven times during the 1969-70 season. (Seven players averaged more than 30 points a game that season, headed by Maravich’s 44.5 ppg; what everyone was doing that season, I have no idea.)
-
Furman’s Frank Selvy holds the overall D-I scoring record, hitting 100 against Newberry in 1954.
-
Portland State’s Freeman Williams topped 60 three times (including 81 against Rocky Mountain in 1978), but they were all against non D-I foes.
The season’s other scoring star, Stephen Curry, dumped 41 on Chattanooga Saturday. Will he hit 60 this season? If he gets to the free-throw line 35 times, I’d say it’s a done deal.
