Sure, they’re Minnesota of the Big Ten. You got tired of seeing them every week on ESPN; you got sick of everybody from Vitale to Packer to Phelps gushing about the might of their conference.
And, sure, you knew you could play with them and beat them on center stage in the biggest event in your sport.
You wanted to crush the Gophers. You wanted to show the nation and CBS and every media outlet from here to Gainesville that some little school named Gonzaga, with no TV deal and little recognition east or west of Spokane, belonged.
You’ve seen Minnesota more than you’ve seen “Friends” or “South Park” or “The Practice,” and a part of you resented the Gophers’ exposure.
So for 40 minutes Thursday, you weren’t interested in their troubles. You didn’t care that four players, including starters Kevin Clark and Miles Tarver, were suspended because they allegedly had someone write papers and take take-home tests for them.
You just thumped them.
You outran them and took a 51-30 lead early in the second half. You survived their late-game push and your own novice nervousness.
Minnesota cut your lead to 65-63, and then Richie Frahm hit a three from the corner with 1 minute 20 seconds to play and you were certain to get your school’s first victory in the NCAA tournament.
“He willed that one in,” guard Matt Santangelo said.
Gonzaga 75, Minnesota 63.
You beat the Big Ten. It was a victory for Gonzaga, Spokane, the West Coast Conference, the little guy.
You beat the Gophers, and after it was over and you had celebrated, you began to feel empathy for them.
Not for the four who cheated their teammates out of this game, but for the guys who played.
The empathy you felt was for the Minnesota players who refused to be the victims of this scandal.
For Minnesota senior Quincy Lewis, who looked distracted and confused by Gonzaga’s diamond-and-one defense. For sophomore Terrance Simmons, who rallied the Gophers and shook the house with two second-half dunks. And for walk-on freshman Dusty Rychart, who had the game of his life–23 points, 17 rebounds–in the biggest game of his life.
“The guys who were playing today were the innocent victims,” Gonzaga forward Casey Calvary said. “I mean, we’re a small school. We write our own papers. It’s tough on athletes at our school. It’s hard for me to sympathize with the guys who had to sit out just because we don’t do any of that stuff.
“But I do sympathize with the guys who were on the floor because they’ve been doing their own work and working hard all year. They got to the tournament, and now they don’t have all of their guys. You’ve got to feel bad for those guys.”
The Minnesota players were taunted by your fans.
“Do your homework.”
You knew they were taunting the wrong guys.
“For a group like ours, which I think is unique in this country, the idea of team is so important,” Santangelo said. “You just don’t do something that will affect the rest of your team.
“I think those guys sitting on their bench felt bad because they let their teammates down. And I’m sure the guys on the floor kind of wished they weren’t put in that situation where they had to step up their games so much to make up for their teammates.
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“For me, I wouldn’t trust anybody else writing a paper for me. I don’t think anyone could write a paper as well as I could, so why would I give it to somebody else? But it’s real unfortunate it happened, and especially at this time of the year.”
But now it’s done. And Stanford is next, and you know your guards can hang with its guards and your big guys can bang with their big guys.
You’ve discovered what life is like in March in the NCAAs.
There is nothing left to fear.