THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Welcome back NCAAs, my old friend

It took an extra year and an extra day, but we finally got our NCAA fix back on Friday.

It actually kinda/sorta came back on Thursday, during the "don't call them play-in games."

Who knew such a tilt between one-time blue bloods UCLA and Michigan State could be so riveting.

Michigan State took it to UCLA in the first half, then its coach took it to one of the players going off the floor at halftime.

But UCLA battled back for an amazing win in overtime — perhaps one of the great tournament wins in Bruins' history.

Well, unless you count UCLA's 11 national championships. And that Tyus Edney coast-to-coast dash to beat Missouri in 1995 in Boise.

Also Thursday, pictures surfaced of the Lovable Zags playing football in the big back yard where they're staying in Indianapolis.

We already know Jalen Suggs was also recruited as a quarterback, but it also looks like Corey Kispert could have gotten a look or two as a passer.

Pessimists feared the headline the next day — "Star forward blows out knee running pass pattern, will miss NCAA tourney."

Of course, that wouldn't happen to one of the Zags.

ANYWAY ...

On Friday morning Florida, where Andrew Nembhard played for two seasons before transferring to Gonzaga this year, is first up, taking on Virginia Tech.

Colgate is taking it to Arkansas. Of course.

When I see Colgate, I think of two things.

One, brush my teeth.

Two, the current Sandpoint High head football coach used to be an assistant football coach there.

Attendance at these games is still "limited" — translation, hardly anybody. In our state, gyms looked that way early in the high school basketball season, too. But by the end of the season, the gyms looked like they usually do, as far as fans.

C'mon, rest of the country! Catch up to Idaho!

Probably just a coincidence the Zags game was scheduled for Saturday night, to be televised in prime time.

Arkansas scores 17 straight points to lead by three at halftime. Of course.

Utah State (which includes North Idaho College product Alphonso Anderson) is up next, playing Texas Tech.

We were on the Utah State campus for a bit the summer before last, on the way home from vacation. We wandered into the Aggies practice facility — whether we were supposed to be in there or not — and stumbled upon a summer workout taking place on the court below. We chatted with an assistant coach who noticed my NCAA T-shirt and invited us to watch practice for a bit, but the road out of Logan beckoned.

Texas Tech, the last team to beat the Zags in the NCAA tournament, features high-flying guard Mac McClung, the transfer from Georgetown. I had hoped to see him lead the Hoyas into the NCAAs someday. Georgetown finally made it this year in improbable fashion, but by that time, McClung had left for Texas Tech.

Folks laughed when I said Eastern Washington was going to beat Kansas on Saturday.

Hey, Oregon State is playing now, leading Tennessee early. And they said the Beavs were only going to be good while the coaches' kids were there (yes, I know, there's still one left).

I see flopping is in vogue in the NCAAs.

Ha ha! Ohio State, a 2 seed, is upset by 15 seed Oral Roberts. I wonder if Zags fans even care if the other top seeds lose, or are even threatened.

Or are they so confident in their Lovables that the only two questions they have are:

Who is the next poor sap team we get to embarrass?

and ...

What day is the parade?

Hey, Oregon State won. Idaho is no longer the last team to lose to the Beavers in the NCAAs, in the 1982 West Region semifinals in Ogden, Utah.

As it turned out, Eastern did not beat Kansas, but it was anything but a laugher for the Jayhawks, who trailed more than they led, but eventually overcame the gritty, gutty Eags at the end.

It would be easy to make a day (or a weekend) of this, but, alas, work (not from home) beckoned. There are ways to track the games there, but as you can imagine, it's not quite the same as lounging at home with the wiener dogs.

But at least my teeth were happy.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.