THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Ho hum, another WCC title for Zags ...

Finally, it’s time.

Gonzaga needs to leave the West Coast Conference.

Winning another share of the conference title (or simply seizing it outright) has become almost meaningless.

The endless rock fights against Saint Mary’s to settle the thing really have gotten boring.

The Gaels’ rugged defense and relentless supply of Australians is unique, I suppose, but even Randy Bennett would tell you that when the Zags play anywhere near their A-game, Saint Mary’s is overmatched.

In Mark Few’s 24-year tenure, the Zags have failed to win at least a share of the conference championship exactly …

Once.

This current season will be remembered as kind of a downer.

Gonzaga should have won both games against the Gaels — and be celebrating another outright WCC title — but the Zags fell apart defensively down the stretch in Moraga.

But the truly shocking reason that this season will have a place in WCC history is that the Zags actually lost to Loyola Marymount in the Kennel.

Predictably, Few’s gang bulldozed the Lions as payback for that outrage, pounding LMU in the rematch — to the tune of a 68-28 halftime lead.

HONESTLY, Gonzaga’s absurd stranglehold on the WCC has become tedious.

When ESPN brought its College GameDay circus to Spokane over the weekend, it was a welcome break in the monotony of the conference schedule.

Even the hyped-up battle with Saint Mary’s — and we KNEW how that would turn out — could only generate so much excitement.

So, look …

The Zags have to go.

Those thrillers against Pacific and Portland have run their course.

Now, you’re going to ask me …

If the Zags leave the WCC at last, where do they go?

Frankly, anywhere would do.

OK, that’s an exaggeration, but not by much.

Running roughshod over their current conference victims is simply two months or so of sleepwalking.

Meanwhile …

There have been rumors about Gonzaga getting invited to various conferences — including the Pac-12 and Big 12, which currently have all members playing football.

The Big 12, which loves to promote itself as the nation’s best hoops conference, could take another step in that direction by adding Gonzaga.

There are all sorts of difficulties in an arrangement like that, although when both sides see money in the bargain, they usually figure out a way to get things done.

BYU played in the WCC in all sports but football, where it remained an independent.

The Cougs and their huge fan base were more than welcome, and the WCC is taking a serious hit with their departure for the Big 12.

If we limit destinations to basketball-only conferences, the most obvious is the Big East.

That would be the most glamorous landing spot, with the likes of Villanova, UConn and so forth, but travel is an undeniable issue — even for the Zags and their private plane.

The closest school in the Big East is Creighton (Omaha, Neb.).

All those Eastern programs would think twice about coming to Spokane once a year.

Getting back to a conference that does play football, but might drool at the notion of adding Gonzaga, let’s talk about the Mountain West.

DON’T ROLL your eyes.

There are at least a half-dozen Mountain West basketball programs that are investing money and getting dramatically better — in other words, going in the opposite direction of the WCC.

If we look at the current NET rankings, the Mountain West has five teams inside the top 50 — plus six in the top 100 and another two just outside that number.

The WCC has the Big Two in the top 10 (no, I have zero idea how Saint Mary’s can be ranked ahead of the Zags), and two more teams in the group between 75 and 100.

Bottom line, the Mountain West has become MUCH more competitive.

Bear in mind, here, that the WCC lost its highly respected commissioner, Gloria Nevarez, to the Mountain West.

Nevarez is an aggressive executive, she knows that adding Gonzaga to the Mountain West could be workable, and she has everyone’s phone number on speed dial.

The truth is that Gonzaga has to find a new home.

The WCC, believe it or not, used to be a hotbed of basketball.

Besides USF and its national titles (plus ranked teams decades after that), Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount have had terrific programs.

Sadly, those days seem to be over.

It’s time for the Zags to go.

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Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”