DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons continue their four-game homestand on Saturday night, as they host the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second half of their back-to-back.

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The Pistons continue to roll as the New Year continues on. Despite losing to the Denver Nuggets in their final game of 2024, the team has kicked off 2025 with a couple of solid wins. After taking down the Orlando Magic on New Year’s Day, Detroit followed that up by hanging on to beat the lowly Charlotte Hornets on Friday night, 98-94.

Tobias Harris led the Pistons with a double-double, scoring 24 points with 10 rebounds, while Jalen Duren also posted a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Detroit is now ninth in the Eastern Conference, two games behind the Miami Heat for sixth.

The Timberwolves come into the Motor City after suffering a tough 118-115 loss to the Boston Celtics on Thursday. It marks back-to-back defeats for Minnesota, who had won three straight games before losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder on New Year’s Eve. The Timberwolves are fighting to stay close to sixth place in the Western Conference. They are currently 10th, two games back of the Dallas Mavericks.

This is the first of two meetings between the two teams this season. The T-Wolves won both matchups with the Pistons last year.

NBA BASKETBALL

Minnesota Timberwolves (17-16) vs. Detroit Pistons (16-18)

When: Saturday, January 4

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Where: Little Caesars Arena (Detroit, Mich.)

Channel: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit

Stream: FuboTV (Free Trial), DirecTV Stream

Check out the NBA standings and results on NBA.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Moments before being doused with a five-gallon tub of mayonnaise, Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck shouted “make it a double!”

Then the 44-year-old coach strapped on a Duke’s Mayo Bowl necktie and — with his players watching and chanting “Mayo! Mayo!” — was drenched on a chilly 40-degree night, a celebration that has become part of the game tradition.

“I told our players if they had 15 tubs of those, I would have done all 15,” Fleck said. “It’s worth it to be a champion at the end of the year.”

Max Brosmer threw for 211 yards and a touchdown, Darius Taylor ran for 113 yards a TD and also threw for a score and the Golden Gophers extended their bowl winning streak to eight with a 24-10 victory over Virginia Tech on Friday night.

Elijah Spencer had six catches for 81 yards and two TDs for Minnesota (8-5) and was selected the game’s MVP after returning to Charlotte, where he played two seasons for the 49ers.

“It was big time because I didn’t think I would have another opportunity to play in front of all of my friends and family,” Spencer said. “A lot of friends and family haven’t seen me play since I went to Minnesota, so being able to play in my backyard, hey, why not?’

Said Fleck: “It’s a little ironic. And it’s a fitting end to his career. He had two really great years with us.”

For Fleck it was another victorious bowl victory — his sixth in a row at Minnesota.

“In the era 2024-25 is it really difficult to build a team and connect a team, but it is way easier when you have a group of men like these guys,” Fleck said.

Backup quarterback Collins Schlee ran for a touchdown and Ayden Greene had six catches for 115 yards for the Hokies (6-7). They’ve lost five of their last six bowl games.

The Golden Gophers outgained the Hokies 403-223.

Schlee and William Watson split time at quarterback for Virginia Tech, with neither eclipsing 100 yards passing.

The Hokies failed to pick up a first down in three series under Watson, so coach Brent Pry switched to Schlee on the and he provided instance offense with a 67-yard strike to Greene to set up his own 3-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead.

But the Hokies couldn’t sustain the momentum.

Minnesota rattled of 21 consecutive points in the second quarter behind Spencer, who hauled in a 10-yard halfback option pass from Taylor and a 12-yard TD toss from Brosmer over the middle on back-to-back possessions. Taylor then made it 21-7 when he raced around left end on a 28-yard run.

With Minnesota up 24-10, Dante Lovett intercepted Brosmer’s to give the Hokies the ball at the Minnesota 15 and a last chance at a comeback midway through the fourth quarter. But the Hokies couldn’t convert as Za’Quan Bryan intercepted Watson’s pass in the end zone, essentially sealing the game with 4:24 remaining.

“Offensively, we got in the red zone and we couldn’t score,” Pry said. “We get down there and we have to score.”

Takeaways

Minnesota: It took a while for the Golden Gophers to get going, but three touchdowns in the second quarter proved to be the difference. “It’s one of the great traditions of bowl games and I hope we never ever go away from bowl games,” Fleck said of the mayo bath. “”I think it is what makes college bowl games special.”

Virginia Tech: The Hokies came in with 14 new starters — seven on each side of the ball — after several players either opted out or entered the transfer portal leading up to the game. “I’m hopeful and encouraged about where we are at,” Pry said.

Bowl-record boot

Virginia Tech’s John Love made a bowl-record 60-yard field goal at the end of the first half.

Celebrity mascot

Word leaked out during the game that there was a celebrity serving as “Tubby,” the bowl game’s mascot which resembles a large yellow-and-white mayonnaise jar. It turns out to be hip-hop artist Flavor Flav, with his identity being revealed shortly after the game. He also helped with the mayo pour.

Stay in the box

Pry received a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct in the second quarter when he raced down the sideline to about the 15 — well outside of the coach’s box — to argue a call with the officials. “We are going to fight for every inch and I thought there were couple of calls I thought were missed,” Pry said.