St. Mary’s readies for suspenseful Selection Sunday

LAS VEGAS — In mid-December, the renewal of a long-dormant Bay Area rivalry ended in heart-thumping fashion.

With Selection Sunday looming, the Gaels of the West Coast Conference are at the center of NCAA Tournament bubble chatter.

Based on advanced metrics, the 27-win Gaels are a logical NCAA Tournament participant.

St. Mary’s ranking at the analysis site KenPom.com (33) and Basketball Power Index ranking (31) also put it ahead of most of the other programs on the NCAA bubble.

By not playing in an exempt tournament, the Gaels missed headliners that could’ve bolstered their profile.

St. Mary’s loss Tuesday to the Bulldogs in the WCC tournament championship game came with a silver lining:

The Gaels are a likely candidate for one of two “play-in games” in Dayton, Ohio, which will feature the last four at-large selections.

The No. 24 Bears are poised to enter their first NCAA Tournament since 2013 as a No. 5 seed, with a shot at moving up or down one line.

Because the NCAA has tried to cut costs in recent years by putting teams as close to home as possible, many brackets have Cal opening in Spokane or Denver.