Saint Mary’s postseason fate was sealed the moment the Gaels lost in the West Coast Conference title game.
Actually, one could argue it happened many months ago, when the ultra-soft, non-conference schedule was finalized in the offseason.
Coach Randy Bennett’s decision to load up on cupcakes meant the Gaels had to claim the WCC’s automatic bid, or get ready for the NIT.
They lost to Gonzaga in the championship, and they’re headed to the NIT.
The selection committee places immense value on the intent behind non-conference schedules. It wants teams with designs on the NCAAs to challenge themselves in November and December.
That’s doubly true of teams outside the power conferences, because of the paucity of high-level games in the second half of the season.
“If you had asked me at the beginning of the season, I would’ve said, ‘Hey, that’s a pretty good schedule,”’ Gaels coach Randy Bennett said.
We respectfully disagree.
The Gaels played 11 non-conference games.
The march of the creampuffs included San Francisco State, a Division II team, plus Grand Canyon, Cal State-Bakersfield, Southern Utah, Utah Valley, Manhattan, Cal Poly, UC Irvine and UC Davis.
That hardly qualifies as a challenging lineup, especially for committee members tasked with comparing SMC’s resume — and its 166th-ranked non-conference schedule — to that of other bubble teams.
Add a hole at the other end of their resume — only two wins over top-50 teams (both against Gonzaga) — and the Gaels had little on which to base their case.
Bennett is a fabulous coach, but his scheduling philosophy must change or the Gaels could be headed for more disappointment in future seasons.
For more on college sports, see Jon Wilner’s College Hotline at blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports. Contact him at jwilner@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5716.
