The first full day of the NCAA men's basketball tournament delivered in a big way -- and so did the Minnesotans who played starring roles in some of the day's most exciting games. Here's a look at three of them, all from 5/12 matchups:
Siyani Chambers, Harvard: The former Hopkins standout scored 11 points -- five of them in a row in the final two minutes -- for the 12th-seeded Crimson in an upset of No. 5 Cincinnati.
Chambers, just a sophomore, has the complete trust and confidence of head coach Tommy Amaker. From the Boston Globe:
"He's our most important player,'' said Harvard coach Tommy Amaker. "He makes it all go for us. We needed the ball in his hands to make the decisions and plays.
"Sometimes I heap a lot on his shoulders, and I've got to remember he's just a sophomore. And I just . . . I'm thrilled for his growth and his development, and he has a great deal of confidence in himself, and his teammates believe in him so much.
"We only played him for 37 minutes, we needed him for 40.''
Chambers is one of the more emotional Harvard players, and he almost picked up a technical foul when he slammed the ball hard onto the court (he gathered it on the short hop) after the Crimson were denied possession on a loose ball that went out of bounds.
"My teammates, they were just like, 'Keep your head in it, keep going, we need you out there,' '' said Chambers. "You've got to keep your emotions. That helped me get my composure back.''
