For every highlight reel and game changing play that Christian Watson has made for North Dakota State, it reminds a certain generation of fans of one player.

Stacy Robinson.

Robinson was a part of the first NDSU dynasty in the early 80's . He racked up 16 hundred yards and 13 touchdowns in his time in Fargo, part of an offense that ran the ball 90 percent of the time.

Karl-Anthony Towns buried a triple with 9 minutes, 30 seconds left to play Tuesday to put Minnesota up 13 points. He turned, put his finger to his mouth and shushed the Memphis crowd as the Timberwolves went back to their bench for a timeout.

In that moment, Minnesota seemed destined to score another road upset and claim a 3-2 series lead, with a chance to clinch advancement on its home court. But this team never makes life that easy on itself.

"Eighteen-year-old Cordell would have no idea what's in front of him. That's for sure," said former North Dakota State offensive lineman Cordell Volson

Volson is from Balfour, North Dakota. A town of 27 people.

"I played nine man football," said Volson. "You know, I was actually probably more of a basketball player in high school. I guess it all paid off, right?"

Six years later, offensive lineman had appeared in an NDSU record 65 games. During his time as a Bison, Volson was a three-time FCS All American and was part of four national championships.

Spring football practice is usually the chance to learn how a new team works and thrives with each other.

At MSUM, there's a strong connection forming this year with a town nearly 100 miles west on I-94; a connection that's growing by the year.

The Minnesota Timberwolves spent 2½ quarters Thursday showing the type of team they can be.

Unfortunately for Minnesota, the rest of the game revealed the truth of who it appears to be — one not capable of putting it all together for a long enough period of time.

Despite building two separate leads of 25-plus points — one in each half — Minnesota disappeared in the final frame, falling 104-95 to Memphis. The Grizzlies now lead the best-of-7 series 2-1, with Game 4 set for Saturday night at Target Center.

As the losses have started to pile up in the early parts of the Twins' season — many a result of the slumping offense —Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has often praised the approach and the at-bats, even if the results haven't followed.

Not on Wednesday.

The Twins went quickly — they lost in less than two and a half hours — and quietly on Wednesday night, blanked by the Royals 2-0 at Kauffman Stadium. It marked the third time the Twins have been shut out in their last seven games.

Malik Beasley spoke Monday about Minnesota aiming to get a second road win in Game 2 on Tuesday so it wouldn't have to return to Memphis after potentially sweeping the Grizzlies.

That was the type of confidence Minnesota carried into Tuesday after winning Game 1 in such convincing fashion over the weekend. After a regular season split in which Minnesota gave a game away late, it was easy for the Wolves to convince themselves they were in fact the better team in this matchup and could impose their will on a nightly basis.

Spring practices are all about finding who will be the next player to step up in the big moments. On offense for the Bison, Zach Mathis and Braylon Henderson work to pick up where All-American wide receiver Christian Watson left off.

"I think the wide receiver room's really good," said head coach Matt Entz. "Braylon Henderson, we're counting on or leaning on to step up. Zach Mathis is healthy right now so we're seeing him do some things out there."

ST. PAUL — It wasn't the way the Wild would have drawn it up, but they'll take it.

What appeared early to be a runaway victory over a second-division club playing out the string became a dogfight that the Wild were fortunate to send into overtime. That one point officially clinched Minnesota's 2022 postseason berth, but the Wild needed another to stay within spitting distance of St. Louis for home ice in the first round of the playoffs.

Kevin Fiala tied the game 4-4 when Jordie Benn's one-timer hit him at the crease and deflected past Sharks goaltender James Reimer with 11 minutes remaining in regulation, then scored the overtime winner on a wrist shot from between the circles as the Wild rallied for a 5-4 victory and two important points in front of 19,029 at Xcel Energy Center.

FARGO — Lewis Walker and Matt Entz were no strangers to each other. The two coaches had previously been connected through former North Dakota State offensive line coach AJ Blazek.

Walker and Entz had talked for more than four years, with the potential of working together on the table.

In February, the right scenario finally played out when Entz hired Walker onto his defensive staff as cornerbacks coach, a spot that was left open when defensive ends coach Buddha Williams took a job at Colorado State.