Ex-Gophers, Minnesota prep stars excel on first day of March Madness

Minnesota's handprints were all over the first day of the NCAA Tournament.

March 20, 2025; Denver, CO, USA; Texas A&M Aggies forward Pharrel Payne (21) reacts after the win over Yale Bulldogs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Gophers are absent from this year's NCAA Tournament for the sixth consecutive year, but some former players and even more former Minnesota prep stars dominated the first day of March Madness.

Pharrel Payne (Texas A&M) and Elijah Hawkins (Texas Tech)

Minnesota losing Payne and Hawkins to the transfer portal last offseason has been discussed ad nauseam, but both players performed at a high level on Thursday night.

Payne had a season-high 25 points and 10 rebounds in only 25 minutes off the bench for his second double-double in a Texas A&M uniform, as the 4-seed Aggies took down 13-seed Yale 80-71. Hawkins nearly recorded a triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists with only two turnovers, as 3-seed Texas Tech knocked out 14-seed UNC Wilmington 82-72.

Local prep stars

Minnesota high school basketball routinely develops Division I talent and it was on full display on Thursday. It was highlighted by former Hopkins star Kerwin Walton, who scored a career-high 27 points for Texas Tech. He drilled 8-of-19 shots from three.

Former Wayzata standouts Camden Heide had his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for Purdue, and Jackson McAndrew had 11 points off the bench as Creighton blew past Louisville.

Stewartville, Minnesota's Will Tschetter had seven points off the bench as 5-seed Michigan held off 12-seed UC San Diego's upset bid.

Former Eastview stud Steven Crowl had 18 points and Lakeville North's Nolan Winter added 10 more as Wisconsin took care of business against Montana.

Former Cretin-Derham Hall standout J'Vonne Hadley had 13 points and 8 rebounds in Louisville's loss to Creighton.

There will continue to be plenty of local representation on Friday with Dain Dainja on Memphis, Michigan State's Tre Holloman and Iowa State's Curtis Jones and Nate Heise, among others on the courts.

Meanwhile, Gophers fans should be locked in on top head coach candidate Niko Medved and the Colorado State Rams, as their result against Memphis could have a big impact on the ongoing coaching search.

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