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The Gonzaga Bulldogs are underdogs no longer — and that might have head coach Mark Few worried.

The 'Zags secured a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament on Sunday for the second time in school history, and for the second time as a top seed they'll make their first stop in Salt Lake City.

And Few could have mixed emotions about that.

"If they want to cheer for us, yeah," the coach said last week when asked if he'd welcome a return trip to Utah. "If they do that crap they did last time, then no."

The squad from Spokane learned the last time they were here that this is a place that roots for the little guy. So when the Jaguars of Southern University pushed the Bulldogs to the brink in the first round of the tournament back in 2013, the crowd at what was then EnergySolutions Arena started hoping for an upset.

So how upset Few will be about returning to the Beehive next week will depend on us.

And who knows for sure how the Salt Lake City crowd will root next week. As March Madness descends on the nation, the entire state has been shut out.

The Brigham Young Cougars blew their shot with another blowout loss to St. Mary's. The Utes' tourney hopes ran out against Cal.

The Wolverines clawed their way through four overtimes in the Western Athletic Confernce title game, only to fall short. Weber State, likewise, wasn't great enough to pull off a victory on the doorstep of the spot in the bracket.

Utah State and Southern Utah? Never close.

College basketball, however, isn't done with us yet.

The first and second rounds of the West Region will bring eight of the Big Dance's hopefuls to downtown Salt Lake City.

So welcome, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, who will try to play the roll of spoiler when they take on Gonzaga on Thursday afternoon.

Welcome, the 15-seed North Dakota Fighting Hawks, who earned their tourney berth by topping Weber State in the Big Sky Conference title game.

Welcome, too, the Northwestern Wildcats, who will make their first ever NCAA tournament appearance when they square off with the Vanderbilt Commodores in a fun 8-9 matchup.

"Very rarely in life do you get a chance to be a part of something that's never ever been done," Northwestern coach Chris Collins told CBS during its selection show on Sunday. "It's been a lot of work, a lot of ups and downs to get to this moment. … But now we get to work."

Welcome, Pac-12 champion Arizona, which was awarded a No. 2 seed and will take on North Dakota. The Wildcats have some history in Salt Lake City, having beaten Belmont and Harvard here in 2013 on their way to the round of 16.

Welcome, Saint Mary's, a squad BYU fans are all too familiar with. Welcome, to the Rams of VCU.

This will be the 35th time in NCAA history that Utah will host a piece of the tournament. And it will be the third time that the tourney has come to the building now known as Vivint Smart Home Arena. It was there, in 2010, that Gordon Hayward's Butler team danced its way into the Final Four. It was there, in 2013, that Few's Bulldogs squeaked past Southern, only to be upset by Wichita State.

This Gonzaga team, however, may be Few's most complete and, led by junior guard Nigel Williams-Goss, will have its sights set on a Final Four breakthrough.

Let's welcome them all now — the first-timers, the old-timers, the underdogs and the top dogs alike.

Who knows how welcome they'll feel come Thursday.

Twitter: @aaronfalk —

NCAA Tournament

Salt Lake City schedule

Thursday's games

At Vivint Smart Home Arena

No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 16 South Dakota State, noon.

No. 8 Northwestern vs. No. 9 Vanderbilt, after conclusion of Game 1.

No. 7 Saint Mary's vs. No. 10 VCU, 5:20 p.m.

No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 15 North Dakota, after conclusion of Game 3.