Nic Moore puts one up over Gonzaga's Kyle Wiltjer. (USATSI)

We can be brief, because the consequences are simple.

Heading into Saturday night's road game at SMU, Gonzaga was projected as a 12 seed in Jerry Palm's latest bracket assessment.

The Bulldogs fell 69-60 against the 16th-ranked Mustangs, meaning they're no longer a viable at-large candidate for now. This was an unusual out-of-conference matchup for the Zags, who always schedule well out of conference. But this year the team's hit a few too many stumbles. Mark Few's team is now 20-6 but lacks outside of WCC play to keep it realistically in the picture. The best non-con wins are over UConn, Washington and Tennessee. Only UConn is a pragmatic at-large candidate, and the Huskies aren't even a sure thing to be announced on Selection Sunday.

It's looking like, minimally, Gonzaga will need to reach the WCC title game. Maybe a win is necessary to get the auto bid. The Bulldogs never miss the NCAA Tournament, but maybe this becomes the year it happens.

As for SMU, which can't reach the tournament due to NCAA sanctions, it was a memorable night. The program continues to put up a memorable season for that community. Nic Moore is probably going to win AAC Player of the Year. He had 25 points on Saturday night. And former President George W. Bush was in the building as well. He's attended a few SMU games before, but it's probably always a pretty surreal feeling to be greeted by one of the 44 men to ever be voted to lead this country.