The St. Cloud State, CSB, and University of Minnesota hockey teams notched wins to secure weekend sweeps on Saturday, the Minnesota Wild earned a shootout win, the CSB, SJU, SCSU, and Gopher basketball teams all came out victorious, the Bison football team trampled Montana to advance in the post-season, and the Granite City Lumberjacks edged out Alexandria, while the St. Cloud Norsemen fell to the Wilderness for the series split, and the Minnesota Timberwolves came up short against the Thunder. On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings will look to earn their first conference title since 2017 when they close out a three-game home stand against the Jets, and the University of Minnesota men's basketball team will begin Big Ten play against Purdue.

RECAPS:

- The no. 3 Bison dominated in a 49-26 win over Montana in the second round of the FCS Playoffs on Saturday. NDSU scored the first touchdown of the day in the opening quarter and built a lead they would never relinquish. Cam Miller completed six of ten attempts for 58 yards and an interception but also added eight carries for 81 yards and two touchdowns. Kobe Johnson had 12 carries for 206 yards and two touchdowns, while TaMerik Williams added 101 yards and a touchdown on his 11 carries. the Bison are now 10-2 overall and will host Samford in the quarterfinals on Friday at 6:00 p.m. You can catch that game on AM 1390 and 93.9 FM Granite City Sports.

- The SCSU men's hockey team rallied to beat UND 6-3 and earn their first sweep of the Fighting Hawks since 2013. North Dakota opened up an early 3-0 lead, but St. Cloud responded with six unanswered goals to lock up the win. Zach Okabe led SCSU with his second career hat trick. The Huskies improve to 13-3 and will head to Miami University on Friday.

- The SCSU women's hockey team also earned the weekend sweep with a 6-3 win over St. Thomas. The Huskies have now swept the Tommies twice this season. Klára Hymlárová scored the first hat trick of her college career to give St. Cloud State the edge. The Huskies improve to 11-8 and will play the University of Minnesota on Friday. Puck-drop is set for 6:00 p.m. in Minneapolis.

- The SCSU men's basketball team extended their win streak to four games with an 81-67 takedown of the University of Minnesota-Crookston. Matthew Willert led all scorers with 23 points for St. Cloud. Ryan Bagley added 14. The Huskies improve to 5-3 and will visit UMary at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

- The SCSU women's basketball team also topped Crookston 71-51 on the road Saturday. Katrina Theis dominated the court, leading all scorers with a career-high 36 points and game-high 8 rebounds. The Huskies improve to 5-2 and will also hit the road to face UMary in Bismarck Friday night.

- The CSB hockey team topped Bethel 3-2 in overtime to secure the weekend sweep. Chloe Lewis and Emily Lemker each netted one for St. Ben's in regulation and Ava Stinnett put the game away with a goal in the extra period. The Bennies improve to 7-4 and will break until January 13th when they visit Gustavus.

- The CSB basketball team beat Augsburg 82-68 in front of a home crowd on Saturday afternoon. Sophia Jonas led St. Ben's with 22 points, Carla Meyer added 17, and Olivia Boily finished with 13. The Bennies improve to 4-1 and will host Macalester at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

- The SJU basketball team also blew out Augsburg with a 78-50 win at home Saturday. Ryan Thissen led all scorers with 24 points and 8 rebounds for St. John's. Griffin Rushin added 13.  The Johnnies improve to 5-2 and will visit Macalester at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

- The Gopher men's hockey team beat Michigan State 6-3 to complete the weekend series sweep. Minnesota opened up a 4-0 lead and kept the Spartans from finding the back of the net through the first two periods. Michigan State finally scored to prevent the shutout in the third, but the Gophers also added to their total. Six different players scored goals for Minnesota in the win. Justen Close made 40 saves and allowed three goals. The Gophers improve to 13-5 and will host Wisconsin on Friday at 8:00 p.m.

- The Gopher women's basketball team opened up Big Ten play with a 98-96 win over Penn State in double overtime. Makenna Marisa led all scorers with 34 points for the Nittany Lions. Minnesota had four players in double digits with Mara Braun scoring 26, Amaya Battle netting 19, Mallory Heller adding 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Katie Borowicz finishing with 13 points. The Gophers improve to 5-3 and will host Kentucky (5-1) at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

- The Lumberjacks held on to beat Alexandria 4-3 at home Saturday. Cody Weber, Jacob McPartland, Reed Hanus, and Joe Greniuk each lit the lamp once for Granite City. The Lumberjacks improve to 20-1-0-1 and will travel to Mason City to face the Toros on Friday.

- The Wild earned a 5-4 shootout win over Anaheim at home Saturday night. Minnesota outshot the Ducks 49-33 in the win. The Wild improve to 12-9-2 and will travel to Dallas on Sunday afternoon. Pre-game coverage starts at 1:45 p.m. on AM 1390 and 93.9 FM Granite City Sports.

- The Norsemen fell to the Wilderness 4-1 in game two of the weekend series. Tyler Dysart scored the lone goal for St. Cloud in the third period to avoid the shutout. The Norsemen fall to 9-12-1-1 and will host Minot in a series starting Friday at 7:00 p.m.

- The Timberwolves blew a 101-97 lead in the fourth quarter to fall 128-135 to Oklahoma City. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 33 points for the Thunder. In KAT's absence, D'Angelo Russell led Minnesota with 27 points and Anthony Edwards added 26. The Wolves fall to 11-12 and will host the Pacers on Wednesday. Pre-game coverage tips off at 6:30 p.m. on AM 1240 and 95.3 FM WJON.

PREVIEWS:

- The Vikings (9-2) have the opportunity to lock up the NFC North title when they host the New York Jets (7-4) on Sunday. If Minnesota can put up a win against one of the NFL's top-ranked defenses partnered with a Detroit loss or tie in their matchup with Jacksonville, the Vikings could earn their first conference title since 2017. After a tough home loss to Dallas, a little complementary football led Minnesota to a 33-26 win over New England. The Jets are also 1-1 in their last two games, losing to the Patriots and then beating the Bears. The Vikings are expecting to have a few key players return from injuries this week in CB Akayleb Evans and DT Dalvin Tomlinson. Ben Ellefson and Christian Darrisaw will both miss the game for Minnesota, but Darrisaw is making progress in concussion protocol. DL Ross Blacklock is also listed as questionable for the Vikings. For the Jets, safety Ashtyn Davis has been ruled out while running back Michael Carter and offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi are listed as doubtful, and fellow OT Duane Brown is listed as questionable. Minnesota is 3-8 overall against New York. Pre-game coverage kicks off at 11:00 a.m. on AM 1240 and 95.3 FM WJON.

- The Gopher men's basketball team (4-3) will visit no. 5 Purdue (7-0) in their Big Ten opener on Saturday. Minnesota has not won a conference opener since the 2017-2018 season. The Gophers are 81-98 all-time against the Boilermakers. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m.

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