A Gael-Force Win for St. Mary’s:

Well, somebody’s bubble just burst.

No. 18 Gonzaga was going to the Big Dance regardless of the outcome in last night’s West Coast Conference tournament final in Las Vegas. St. Mary’s, on the other hand, needed a win to make sure it wouldn’t end up a wallflower for the second straight year.

The Gaels indeed notched the upset straight-up (SU) and against the spread (ATS), hammering the top-seeded Bulldogs 81-62 as a 4.5-point underdog. So with the WCC now grabbing two bids, somebody got knocked out of the tournament. Just who that is, we won’t know until Selection Sunday.

What we do know is that in road/neutral-site contests this year, the Gaels have been an excellent bet. They’ve gone 12-3 SU and 11-4 in Vegas (and they were literally in Vegas last night), covering the number at a money-making 73.3 percent clip. That includes a 4-1 SU and ATS mark on neutral courts, something that’s always nice to know heading into the Tourney.

 College Basketball Fast Break:

Let’s keep it on the college hardwoods with some more noteworthy numbers from tonight’s conference tournament slate:

·         Seton Hall just beat Providence 92-80 as a one-point road chalk Saturday, and the Friars are the opponent again today in the Big East tourney at Madison Square Garden. The Pirates are on ATS plunges of 6-14 overall, 6-13 in conference play and 7-19 on neutral courts, but they are on identical 5-2 ATS upticks in Tuesday games and against losing teams.

·         Providence is on ATS slides of 2-6-1 overall (all in the Big East and all against winning teams), 1-4 on neutral floors and 1-3-1 after an ATS setback.

·         Seton Hall is 9-4 ATS in the last 13 clashes with Providence, and the SU winner is on a 9-0 ATS tear in this rivalry.

·         Staying in the Big East, Rutgers is in ATS ruts of 1-5 at neutral sites, 3-9 after a SU win, 8-20-1 after a non-cover and 5-11 against winning teams. But the Scarlet Knights finished the regular season on a 7-3 ATS surge (all in conference play) and are on a 5-1 ATS uptick in Tuesday games, with Cincinnati up next.

·         The Bearcats are on a bundle of spread-covering freefalls, including 7-22 overall, 6-20 in the Big East, 5-16 after a SU loss, 4-13 after an ATS loss and 1-4 against losing teams.

·         DePaul has covered nine of its last 12 as an underdog heading into its game with South Florida. The Blue Demons have lost 36 of their last 38 Big East games straight-up.

·         U.Conn, battling St. John’s, has covered just five of its last 18 when laying points.

·         No. 12 Butler, playing Wright State for the Horizon League crown, is on ATS skids of 2-5 overall, 2-6 at home, 0-4 on Tuesday and 2-5 after a SU win.

·         Wright State shoulders negative ATS streaks of 1-11-1 on the highway, 4-10-2 in league play and 3-8-2 against winning teams.

·         In the Butler-Wright State rivalry, the Bulldogs have won six in a row SU (4-2 ATS), the home team is on an 8-2 ATS roll, and the SU winner is 9-2 ATS in the last 11 meetings.

·         Troy, the top seed in the Sun Belt, sports positive ATS streaks of 5-0-1 overall (all after SU wins and all in conference play), 5-0 against winning teams and 9-4 at neutral sites, with North Texas up in today’s final in Hot Springs, Ark.

·         The second-seeded Mean Green Eagles --- do nicknames get any better than that, really? --- are also on a few pointspread tears, including 16-5-1 overall, 6-0 against winning teams, 5-1-1 after either a SU or an ATS win, 12-3-1 in the Sun Belt and 17-5 on neutral courts.

·         North Texas is 5-2 ATS in its last seven contests against Troy.

·         Oakland, the No. 1 seed in the Summit League, has won 10 in a row and 19 of its last 20 SU, and is on a pair of 4-0 ATS runs --- on Tuesday and on neutral floors. But the Golden Grizzlies are also 4-7 ATS in their last 11 starts overall and 1-4 ATS in their last five outings against winning teams, with IUPUI awaiting in the tournament final in Sioux Falls, S.D.

·         IUPUI is 5-2 ATS in its last seven (all in the Summit League) and 4-1 in its last five against winning teams, but is also on a 2-5 ATS skid following a spread-cover.

·         Princeton is 11-2 ATS in Ivy League play this year and has covered 14 of its last 16 lined games overall heading into its showdown with visiting Penn.

·         Charlotte is on negative skids of 1-6 SU and 1-8 ATS heading into it’s Atlantic-10 Tournament outing versus U.Mass.

We’ll finish things off today with a few trends from the eight-game NBA slate:

·         The Celtics, visiting Milwaukee, are on ATS purges of 7-16-1 overall, 3-7 in the East, 3-8-1 against winning teams and 5-15-1 after a day off.

·         The Bucks are on runs of 9-1 SU and 10-0 ATS and are scorching hot at the betting window, with additional spread-covering streaks of 21-3 overall, 22-6 in the East, 13-3 against Atlantic Division foes, 22-8 after a spread-cover and 9-2 in the home uniforms (4-0 last four).

·         Milwaukee is 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings in this rivalry, including 4-0 in the last four clashes (all as a ‘dog) and 4-1 in the last five at the Bradley Center.

·         The Heat, traveling to Charlotte, are in a 1-6 ATS funk against losing teams, though they also carry positive ATS streaks of 15-6-1 on Tuesday, 4-0 after a SU win, 5-1 as a pup and 4-1 as a road ‘dog.

·         The Bobcats are on a 4-1 ATS run as a home chalk of under 5 points, but they are on a handful of ATS slides, including 4-9 overall, 1-6 in the East and 1-6 laying points.

·         The 76ers, at Indiana, are 17-11 ATS as a road dog this season.

·         The Jazz, visiting Chicago, are 20-5-2 ATS in their last 27 outings. They’ve won eight of their last 10 road games, but have fallen in four of their last five visits to the United Center.

·         The Bulls have lost four in a row, allowing an average of 110 ppg. In fact, Chicago has allowed seven straight foes to top the century mark in scoring, yielding an average of 109.3 points in that stretch.

·         The Lakers, looking to avoid their first four-game skid since April of 2007, has won 7 in a row at home versus Toronto. This is LA’s only home game in a seven games in 12 days stretch.

·         Kobe Bryant, who has averaged 33.3 points during LA’s current losing streak, has averaged 43.4 points in Toronto’s last five visits to the Staples Center.

·         The Raptors have lost five of six straight-up and seven in a row versus the oddsmakers heading into their battle with the Lakers.