Woody Paige: BYU basketball: Jimmer shimmers for Sweet 16 Cougars

"They played as good as we've seen them since, you know, the Brandon situation," Few said. "They were hitting on all cylinders. ... You have to pick your poison. When you got a guy who can get 50, he creates a lot of help situation. Those other guys have not been shooting the basketball as well as they shot it tonight."

The Cougars were well aware that they had been downgraded lately, and Gonzaga was even favored by a point.

"It's just a matter of believing in ourselves," Fredette said. "I think that we're still a very, very good team. I've been telling everybody that all along."

As a kid, Jimmer idolized John Stockton, who was in the crowd. He stuck Stockton's kid, David, for a couple of 3-pointers. It might have been somewhat unfair. David is 5-foot-11 and actually weighs 142 pounds, but the school's sports information director acknowledged he fudged "and decided to get him to a buck-50."

The Zags converted only 2-of-9 from beyond the 3-point line.

And they couldn't covert Jimmer into a loser.

He wasn't less. He was more.

Woody Paige is a sports columnist for The Denver Post. He can be reached at WPaige@denverpost.com.