K-HEART SPORTS – THURSDAY – 12/07/23
MINOT, ND – The second Class AA high school basketball polls of the season have been released. The polls are voted on by the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NDAPSSA).
Class AA Girls Basketball Poll
Team (1st Place Votes) Record Polling Points Last Week
1. Minot High (15) 3-0 75 1
2. Fargo Davies 1-0 46 3
3. Grand Forks Red River 0-1 44 2
4. Bismarck Legacy 2-0 32 4
5. Bismarck Century 0-0 18 5
1. Minot High (15) 3-0 75 1
2. Fargo Davies 1-0 46 3
3. Grand Forks Red River 0-1 44 2
4. Bismarck Legacy 2-0 32 4
5. Bismarck Century 0-0 18 5
Others receiving votes: Bismarck High (2-0), Bismarck St. Mary’s (1-0)
Class AA Boys Basketball Poll
Team (1st Place Votes) Record Polling Points Last Week
1. Fargo North (9) 2-0 69 1
2. Fargo Davies (3) 1-0 55 2
3. Minot High (3) 3-0 53 3
4. Bismarck Century 1-0 26 4
5. West Fargo Sheyenne 2-1 15 RV
1. Fargo North (9) 2-0 69 1
2. Fargo Davies (3) 1-0 55 2
3. Minot High (3) 3-0 53 3
4. Bismarck Century 1-0 26 4
5. West Fargo Sheyenne 2-1 15 RV
Other receiving votes: Bismarck High (1-1), Grand Forks Central (1-0), Mandan (1-1)
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MSU HOCKEY-POLLS
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – Powered by weekend sweeps, the Minot State men’s hockey team held strong at No. 2 in the latest ACHA national poll and the Beaver women’s hockey team remained ranked No. 8 in the country. The Minot State men (14-4-0 overall) wrapped up last week with 4-1 and 6-0 wins over visiting Grand Canyon, while the Minot State women (9-9-0) beat Dakota College at Bottineau 9-3 at the Maysa Arena on Saturday, then 4-1 in Bottineau on Sunday.
Adrian (Mich.) retained the No. 1 spot in the latest men’s poll while Jamestown, which scored a 4-1 upset of Minot State on Nov. 27, moved up to No. 3 in the nation. Central Oklahoma slipped one spot to No. 4 and UNLV moved up one spot to round out the top 5.
On the women’s side, Midland (Neb.) flip-flopped with Liberty (Va.) for the second time this season as the Warriors moved to the No. 1 spot and the Flames slipped to No. 2. Adrian was No. 3, Michigan No. 4, and McKendree No. 5.
The second-ranked Minot State men host Midland this week at the Maysa Arena with game-time at 7 p.m. on Thursday and 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
The eighth-ranked Beaver women play at No. 11-ranked Jamestown this weekend with puck-drop at 5 p.m. on Friday in Jamestown, and at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
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NDSU FOOTBALL-HONORS
ST. LOUIS (NDSU) – Safety Cole Wisniewski of North Dakota State highlights a list of 43 student-athletes named to the 2023 Missouri Valley Football Conference Scholar-Athlete Team on Tuesday, Dec. 5, by a vote of the league’s sports information directors. Wisniewski was voted MVFC Scholar-Athlete of the Year with a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average majoring in business administration and marketing. He leads the FCS with six interceptions and has a team-high 78 tackles and five pass breakups for North Dakota State. NDSU safety Sam Jung was named to the first team with a 4.0 GPA in civil engineering. Bison linebacker Logan Kopp (3.82, mechanical engineering), right guard Jake Kubas (3.716, sport management) and defensive tackle Eli Mostaert (3.65, finance) were selected to the second team. Honorable mentions from NDSU were defensive tackle Jaxon Duttenhefer (3.94, accounting) and linebacker Luke Weerts (3.85, business administration).
Nominees must be starters or important reserves; must have participated in at least 50 percent of his team’s games and carry a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale). Nominees in graduate school must have a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or better both as an undergrad AND in graduate school. Additionally, nominees must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution and must have completed at least one calendar year at their institution. True freshmen, redshirt freshmen and ineligible athletic transfers are not eligible. Graduate students who are competing at a different institution than the one from which they earned their undergraduate degree are eligible even if they are in their first semester at the graduate institution.
North Dakota State (10-3) is scheduled to play No. 3 seed South Dakota (10-2) in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, at the DakotaDome in Vermillion. The game will be televised nationally on ABC.
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WOLVES-SPURS
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 21 rebounds and the NBA-leading Minnesota Timberwolves held on to beat San Antonio 102-94 on Wednesday night for their fifth straight victory and the Spurs’ 15th loss in a row. Mike Conley added 18 points, Anthony Edwards had 17 and Naz Reid 15. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds to help Minnesota improve to 16-4. Edwards returned after missing two games because of a right hip pointer, but went 4 of 17 from the field. Gobert matched up often with good friend and French countryman Victor Wembanyama in the rookie’s first game in Minnesota. Wembanyama struggled against Minnesota’s height with Gobert, Towns and Reid, scoring just 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting. He had 10 rebounds. Devin Vassell scored 22 points to lead San Antonio. Keldon Johnson added 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Zach Collins had 12 points. The Timberwolves trailed early in the fourth quarter before 3-pointers from Edwards and Reid spurred a 16-2 run. Minnesota is still without starting forward Jaden McDaniels because of a sprained right ankle. He has been cleared to participate in individual on-court and strength training activities. The Timberwolves are at Memphis on Friday night.
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VIKINGS-DOBBS
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Joshua Dobbs and the Minnesota Vikings finally had an opportunity to catch their breath, after a whirlwind arrival, a storybook start and two buzz-killing losses before their bye week. He’s still the quarterback for now. Their job is to provide enough support to keep him in his starting role — while maintaining positioning for the playoffs that has taken a precarious turn. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell announced on Wednesday that Dobbs will remain the starter this week, after he threw four interceptions — three of them off a variety of deflections — during a damaging 12-10 defeat at home to Chicago on Nov. 27. O’Connell acknowledged after that game he considered benching Dobbs to give the offense a spark. “The conversation was smooth and open,” Dobbs said before practice. “I plan on making the most of this opportunity and bouncing back from the last time on the field.” O’Connell decided Dobbs was the best option for the game at Las Vegas on Sunday and that he deserved another start, but the coach left wide open the possibility of a future switch. “Our offense and our staff’s ability to evolve and help Josh thrive is our plan,” O’Connell said. “We’re very confident in him.”
When Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles tendon in the game at Green Bay on Oct. 29, the Vikings (6-6) have been scrambling ever since. Dobbs was a valuable find in a trade with Arizona, but the seventh-year veteran — trying to get up to speed on his third different playbook this season — has shown his limitations and vulnerabilities. Off-the-mark throws are one thing. Six turnovers over the past two games — losses by a combined three points — are another. Over his first two games, both Vikings victories, Dobbs had no interceptions and two lost fumbles. He also totaled 110 rushing yards on 15 attempts in those games. In the past two outings, he took off 10 times and netted only 32 yards. “Obviously it’s a process when you come in and you’re entrenched in a new offense very quickly and as they try to learn me and areas I’m able to thrive at, as well as me as I continue to learn the ins and outs of an offense,” Dobbs said. Soon after the Chicago game, Dobbs sent a text message to O’Connell with a request to review the film together. Quarterbacks coach Chris O’Hara joined them. “There was a lot of growth moments for him in those discussions and for me as well,” O’Connell said.
Nick Mullens will be the backup this week. He’s still returning to full strength from a lower back injury that kept him sidelined for more than a month. Rookie Jaren Hall, who was the first post-Cousins starter before a concussion forced him out and sent Dobbs in at Atlanta, will be third string. Dobbs will get a big boost from the return of wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who was activated last week from injured reserve. The 2022 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year has missed the past seven games with a strained hamstring. “He happens to be an extremely friendly target with his catch radius and his ability to do pretty dynamic things with the ball after the catch,” O’Connell said. “We’ll try to put together a plan that maximizes that.”