THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: A big one before the really big one

Thank heaven for Saint Mary’s.

No, really.

If the tough and annoying Gaels weren’t coming to The Kennel on Saturday night, then EVERY sentence spoken or written would be about the Super Bowl.

Look, it’s great to have the Seahawks clutching the NFC championship trophy, and now spending two exciting weeks of practice in preparation for next week’s duel against New England.

The Super Bowl is gigantic.

But in another week, we’ll be down to features about backup long snappers doing crochet.

The first time I ever covered a Super Bowl, NFL executive Curt Moser gave me some advice.

“The two weeks leading up to the game will feel like they’re never going to end,” he said.

“Then the game itself goes by so fast that you can’t even remember what happened.”

He was right on both counts.

That two-week buildup period started with a couple days of excitement, but by kickoff it had come to feel like a prison sentence.

You start to think: Fans can’t possibly want MORE obscure information about these teams.

On the morning of the game, though, electricity zaps everyone again, and America goes bonkers.

AT THE moment, we’re in the prison yard stage.

Other than the daily injury reports — really the only news that could rock the coming Super Bowl — the Seahawks and Pats are going about quiet preparation for the monster matchup due next Sunday.

Folks are probably saving Super Bowl preview stories to help put them to sleep.

Ah, but the calendar is giving us a break.

One of the yearly blockbusters between Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s comes up this Saturday night in Spokane.

In some ways, it’s routine.

These two teams have been hand-fighting for WCC titles for as long as Mark Few and Randy Bennett have been in charge of the two programs.

The Gaels are the only team in the same universe as Gonzaga, and swept both regular-season games last year to lock up the title.

True to form, though, the Zags turned around and dusted Saint Mary’s in the finale of the conference tournament championship game.

Same old, same old.

However.

There’s extra spice attached to this year’s battles.

Gonzaga moves to the newly formed Pac-12 this summer, eventually waving good-bye to the Gaels and all the rest of their old partners.

There was plenty of talk about Saint Mary’s joining the Pac-12 as a basketball-only member, similar to the Zags.

So far, though, nada.

IN THIS current climate, the two longtime WCC giants have just about as much motivation as possible in what might be their final collisions.

You know that Bennett — the Zag killer — would love to send his rivals out of town while dragging a two-game losing streak to Saint Mary’s.

Or maybe three, if they get back to the WCC conference tournament finale again.

The scene is more or less upside down for Saturday’s game.

Gonzaga is 21-1, 9-0 in the conference and ranked No. 6 in the nation according to the AP poll.

And the Zags are at home, which is a massive advantage.

Few and his staff, though, will be missing post scorer Braden Huff, who is out for perhaps another few weeks after suffering a knee injury.

Huff’s partner in paint, All-American Graham Ike, has also missed the last three games with a bum ankle.

Few said Thursday he expects Ike to play on Saturday.

Either way, these injuries mean blood in the water for Saint Mary’s (19-3, 8-1).

Bennett always has a brute or two for some inside banging, and this year it’s Harry Wessels and Andrew McKeever — a pair of bona fide bruisers.

The money man, however, is forward Paulius Murauskas, who is averaging a tick under 20 points per game.

The Gaels also get scary outside shooting from Joshua Dent and Mikey Lewis.

Ike’s availability and/or the Zags’ ability to hang in there with a small-ball lineup remain puzzles as these two programs get it on once again.

This stretch without Huff is huge for Gonzaga, which needs critical wins ahead of the NCAA tournament.

Meanwhile.

The Super Bowl will be briefly forgotten as the Zags and Gaels begin whacking each other.

Trust me on that.

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Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and 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."