St. Mary’s falls to Gonzaga in WCC tournament final
LAS VEGAS — Politicking isn’t something Randy Bennett relishes doing, but the St. Mary’s head coach gave something of a short speech Tuesday night that made the case for his team’s candidacy.
Bennett was stating his team’s qualifications for an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
The Gaels need the at-large bid because they fell 85-75 to Gonzaga in the WCC tournament final at the Orleans Arena.
St. Mary’s two regular-season wins over the Zags helped the Gaels earn a share of the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
The Gaels didn’t play badly Tuesday night; the Zags (26-7) simply played better.
St. Mary’s guards Emmett Naar and Joe Rahon combined for 41 points (25 by Naar), and they kept the Gaels within striking distance of Gonzaga for most of the second half.
[...] they played only one game against a top-50 RPI team, losing 63-59 at Cal.
Bennett’s final words about his team’s worthiness for one of the 36 at-large bids when the 68-team field is announced Sunday: “I’m not going to get into all the ‘who should’ and ‘who shouldn’t’ (get a bid), but if we don’t, there are some really good teams in this country.”
Steve Kroner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.