Northern Colorado vs. Kansas State Game Recap: Barden Helps Bears Pull Stunner

When we were picking the Mid-Major Madness fantasy teams, there was one player on my list that I was a little wary of going into the draft. You see, he wasn't a household name, at least not outside of maybe a 20 miles radius around his campus.

And we didn't give a lot of love to him last season, despite the numbers that he turned in.

So did I really want to "waste" a draft pick on Derrick Barden?

Oh yes, yes, I did.

Barden had 16 points, 17 rebounds and three steals to help Northern Colorado survive Kansas State 60-58 in the season opener for both teams.

According to the AP, it was the first time since 2002 that Kansas State had last its opener, and the first time in 20 years that that loss came at home.

This was the moment that the mid-major ranks were waiting for on opening night. Everything had been going as you would expect during the first games of the year. That includes all of the upsets that might have been predictedbeing not only wrong, but really, really wrong.

And then a miracle happened. The Bears held Kansas State to just 2-for-19 from 3-point range. They won the battle of the boards. And there was that Derrick Barden performance.

Yeah that might help out the ol' Fantasy squad.

Barden got help off the bench from Tate Unruh (who was an almost 3-win player as a starter last season), who scored 14 points, but could have been better given his 4-for-11 shooting performance.

The Bears next Division 1 game comes on Nov. 20 against New Mexico State (BHULLAR!)