The Gophers don't play until 9 p.m. tonight -- the last of all 32 games from the Thursday/Friday slate and the last of a HUGE sports night for Gophers sports that also includes Gophers women's hockey and Gophers men's hockey ... and the second day of NCAA wrestling ... and Gophers women's hoops in the WNIT -- but if you missed out on Thursday's NCAA men's hoops action, you missed out on a lot of Minnesota connections thriving:

*Siyani Chambers and Jonah Travis, Harvard: Chambers, who played in high school at Hopkins, played all 40 minutes for the Crimson, scoring five points (including a big bucket late) and adding a team-high seven assists as the No. 14 seed stunned New Mexico 68-62. Travis, who played at DeLaSalle, had two points and two rebounds in eight minutes off the bench.

Trent Lockett, Marquette: Another former Hopkins standout, Lockett -- who played three years at Arizona State before transferring to Marquette (where he was eligible right away because he already had his undergrad degree and entered grad school), tied for the team high with 11 rebounds as Marquette snuck past Davidson 59-58. He played a team-high 38 minutes as well.

Justin Cobbs, Cal: Cobbs, a former Gophers guard who transferred, had 13 points and six assists as the 12th-seeded Bears upset UNLV 64-61.

Carlos Emory, Oregon: Emory, a Bloomington native, came off the bench and had 12 points and 9 rebounds in 27 minutes for the Ducks in a victory over Oklahoma State.

Colton Iverson, Colorado State: Another former Gopher, Iverson had 13 rebounds and four points for the Rams before fouling out late in an 84-72 victory over Missouri.

Jordair Jett, St. Louis: Jett, a St. Paul product who played for St. Bernard's in high school, had a team-high 7 assists in 22 minutes off the bench in a 64-44 victory over New Mexico State.

Sam Dower, Gonzaga: Dower, a Gonzaga big-man who starred for Osseo in high school, only played seven minutes off the bench in a 64-58 victory over Southern but was 2-for-2 from the field and scored five points.

Jake White, Wichita State: The former Chaska standout only played 6 minutes for the Shockers and didn't score in their 73-55 victory over Pitt, but it was a good day nonetheless.

Also: D.J. Peterson (Wednesday) for La Salle played 32 minutes and scored five points in a "first four" victory over Boise State. Peterson used to play for Hopkins.

About the only bad news came from Mike Muscala (Bucknell/Roseville) and Nate Wolters (South Dakota State/St. Cloud Tech), who both had rough days in losses to Butler and Michigan, respectively. Both had outstanding careers, though, and both could be drafted (second round, likely) in June.