The Guardian issued a cheery mea culpa Thursday for the withering dismissal of Spokane penned some 48 hours earlier by its young house sociologist between sips at the Hemingway Bar in Paris.

South Dakota State held the Zags to one of their lowest shooting percentages from 3-point range this season. Gonzaga finished 26.7 percent (8 of 30) from beyond the arc on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

With 16 seconds left in No. 8 seed Northwestern’s 68-66 victory over No. 9 seed Vanderbilt, you could have made a pretty good case for Matthew Fisher-Davis as game MVP.

For many years Gonzaga has been an enigma – a small-conference school with the NCAA tournament success of a major conference power and the fan base to match. On Saturday, however, the Bulldogs will finally meet their match in the world of college basketball paradoxes – a Cinderella school from the Big Ten.

With Gonzaga big man Przemek Karnowski struggling to find his rhythm, freshman center Zach Collins stepped up with 10 points, six rebounds and plenty of energy.

Reggie Upshaw scored 19 points, Giddy Potts added 15 and Middle Tennessee took down another Big Ten team in the NCAA Tournament, beating Minnesota 81-72 on Thursday.

SALT LAKE CITY – Northwestern got its first NCAA Tournament victory, 68-66 over Vanderbilt, after Commodores guard Matthew Fisher-Davis inexplicably grabbed Wildcats guard Bryant McIntosh on purpose, sending McIntosh to the free throw line for the go-ahead points with 15 seconds left. Riley LaChance made a layup with 18 seconds remaining in Thursday’s game to put the ninth-seeded Commodores up by one after trailing by as many as 15.

SALT LAKE CITY – Seems logical Johnathan Williams would lock down South Dakota State scoring wizard Mike Daum.

There are different types of Gonzaga fans in the Spokane community. Die-hards. Casual. Front-runners. Folks who just love the sweatshirts. You name it. The Bulldogs run of success has attracted them all. And nothing brings them together like the NCAA Tournament.