Baylor’s Makai Mason was seen limping during Thursday’s win over Syracuse but the 6-foot-1 guard remains the heart of the Bears’ team. He hit four 3-pointers and scored 22 points in the opening round.

Fairleigh Dickinson found a wonderful reason to celebrate near the end of an otherwise dreary 87-49 NCAA Tournament loss to top-seeded Gonzaga on Thursday.

Baylor (20-13) and Gonzaga (31-3) will play for a Sweet Sixteen berth Saturday at 4:10 p.m. PT (TBS) in Salt Lake City. The schools have never met in the NCAA Tournament, but the Bulldogs have won each of the four regular-season meetings – most recently in 2013, when GU won 94-87 in Spokane.

We took their temperature, over and over. We wondered if the Gonzaga Bulldogs had really kicked that bad case of influenza WCC that laid them low in Las Vegas.

Zach Norvell Jr. was Gonzaga’s microwave oven last year, galvanizing the Bulldogs in NCAA Tournament wins over UNC Greensboro and Ohio State with his clutch shot-making.

There was no Saint Mary’s hangover, no sweating out a 1-vs.-16-seed opener the way the Zags experienced in 2013 against Southern. There was top-seeded Gonzaga’s 87-49 runaway Thursday that broke the school record for largest margin of victory in an NCAA Tournament game, surpassing a 27-point rout of Valparaiso in Seattle in 2004.

Zach Norvell Jr. threaded a bounce pass to a streaking Killian Tillie, who only had one goal: he was going to dunk that ball.

Key moment, offensive MVP and defensive MVP from Gonzaga’s 87-49 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City

The NCAA Tournament is, in essence, a new season. With new goals, new opponents and new voices.

Coach Joe Foley’s program is back in the postseason for the sixth time in 10 years and ready to do make some noise this weekend.

Robert Franks earned another postseason accolade Thursday, being named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I All-District 20 First Team.

Rui Hachimura scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds as top-seeded Gonzaga throttled No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson 87-49 on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena.

Recap of Thursday’s NCAA Tournament first-round action.

Two years ago, Mike Hopkins sat at a podium inside Alaska Airlines Arena in front of a crowd of strangers curious about the former Syracuse assistant.

Washington has rewarded coach Mike Hopkins for getting the Huskies back to the NCAA Tournament by giving him a contract extension through the 2025 season.

CBS, TNT and TBS will also show games throughout the tournament.

Gonzaga and Fairleigh Dickinson collide Thursday, both with an eye on NCAA Tournament history.

Over the next few weeks, there will be plenty of players and coaches losing sleep over agonizing losses suffered at the NCAA Tournament.

If Greg Herenda makes it to the Final Four this April with his Fairleigh Dickinson Knights it would be … well, it would be a damned miracle, OK?