March is upon us

March is only two days away and the college basketball world has already started to heat up.

In particular, the West Coast Conference will have an interesting week ahead. The regular season is over with Saint Mary's and Gonzaga finishing in as co-champions.

Because of the tie-breaker rules, the Gaels get the top seed in Las Vegas for the conference tourney beginning on March 4.

Neither team has been overly impressive this season and probably need to win in Vegas to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Let's take a look at their resumes:

Gonzaga:

W-L: 21-9, 11-3 T-1st
RPI: 66
Best wins: Xavier (24), at Saint Mary's (49), Marquette (55)
Worst losses: at San Francisco (120), at Santa Clara (166)
Record vs Top-100 RPI: 7-7

Saint Mary's

W-L: 23-7, 11-3 T-1st
RPI: 49
Best wins: St. John's (13), Gonzaga (66)
Worst losses: at San Diego (312), at Portland (94)
Record vs Top-100 RPI: 4-6

For once, Gonzaga's RPI may actually hurt them. Not in recent memory can I remember a mid-major get an at-large bid with a RPI of 66 or higher.

They need to win the WCC Tournament.

Saint Mary's lost to San Diego.

San Diego? Really?

That single loss, in my opinion, prevents the Gaels from getting an at-large bid.

This brings us back to my point: only one WCC team will reach the Dance.

Gonzaga has not missed the tournament since 1998. The way the seeds are arranged, Gonzaga will most likely face San Francisco in the semifinals on Sunday.

Remember San Francisco defeated Gonzaga at War Memorial Gym last month. But then the Dons were massacred when they visited the Kennel last week.

Saint Mary's will most likely face either Portland or Santa Clara in its semifinal matchup. The Gaels are 3-1 against these teams.

This would seem to set up the familiar matchup of Gonzaga and Saint Mary's in the finals.

They split their games in the regular season, winning on each other's home floor. You could make the case both teams played their best games of the season against each other.

Saint Mary's has started to take the edge over the past year.

The Gaels won the WCC Tournament last season, earning a NCAA bid.

Advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.

Won at Gonzaga (1st time since 1995).

Won a share of the WCC regular season title (1st since 1997).

Although, there has not been a repeat winner of the WCC Tournament since 2006-2007 (Gonzaga).