Minnesota's "Greatest Games" - Big Ten Network On-Demand

On the recommendation of a friend, I sat down tonight to take a look at what the On Demand offerings of the BTN were, and I was pleased to see that each team in the conference had their own 'Greatest Games' offered.  Much to my dismay, the current offering was the March 8th, 1997 basketball game between the Gophs and the Badgers.  We all know how that one ended - Ty Calderwood tearing his jersey off, and the Badgers squeeking out a win to put them in the NCAA tourney.  Hardly a 'greatest game' for the Gophs.  Especially since there were at least 4 other games from that season alone that would have qualified, and been Minnesota wins. And yet loving the '96-97 team as much as I do, I couldn't help but watch the whole game anyways, despite knowing the outcome.  I originally watched this game on a 19" color TV with poor over-the-air reception in my dorm in Comstock Hall, so it was nice to see the game with a little more clarity.

Some other random observations from the game:
- the general dickish-ness of Sam Okey
- Paul Grant is probably my 2nd favorite Badger player to watch (Patrick Tompkins forever being my #1)
- how much more character and volume the UW Fieldhouse had compared to the Kohl Center today
- Court-Dawg James is, and always will be my favorite player from the Clem Haskins era.  If only he had not thrown that phonebook...
- I loved that 1-3-1 zone we ran under Clem, especially with Bobby Jackson on the baseline
- The Miles Tarver/Sam Okey stare down at midcourt was fantastic theatre - this moment was worth the watch alone.
- Trevor Winter's clubbing of Paul Grant was truly thuggish, yet I couldn't help but appreciate his willingness to send a message.
- David Burkemper might have been the most useless player on offense in the history of the Big Ten.
- Jacobson's three to take back the lead with under a minute to go was about as cold-blooded a basket as you'll ever see.
- Where the hell was Bucky Badger?  I don't think I saw him once on the broadcast.

Anyways, despite the loss in the end, a fun watch. Especially since it becomes very evident early in the game that Minnesota is clearly the more talented team from top to bottom, but just didn't scrap the way the Badgers did.  A classic Big Ten game, with bodies on the floor almost every possession.  Check it out if you have BTN On Demand, and have an hour with nothing better to do.