Top-ranked Minnesota Duluth (13-0) will host No. 3 Northwest Missouri State (12-1) at 5 p.m. Saturday in the NCAA Division II semifinals at Malosky Stadium. Delta State (11-3) faces No. 19 Shepherd (12-1) in the other semifinal in Cleveland, Miss., at 1 p.m.
UMD defeated Augustana 24-13 in Saturday's quarterfinals at Malosky Stadium, while Northwest Missouri State topped visiting Central Missouri State 37-20 to advance to the semifinals.
Both semifinal games will be televised live by CBS College Sports.
The last time the Bulldogs and Bearcats met was in the 2008 national championship game when UMD claimed its first national title with a 21-14 victory in Florence, Ala. Their only other meeting came in the first round of the 2002 NCAA playoffs, a 45-41 Northwest Missouri State win in Maryville, Mo.
The Bearcats are no stranger to playing in December. They have reached the semifinals for the sixth straight year and eighth overall, and are 7-0 in those contests. Northwest Missouri State has played in the past five national championship games.
