San Diego State was on the bubble depending on which bracket projection you wanted to believe, but there is absolutely no denying it now -- the Aztecs are in the NCAA tournament following a huge win over BYU in the semifinals of the Mountain West tournament.The Mountain West now looks like a solid three-bid conference and some cock-eyed optimists still believe that UNLV has a shot at a bid. But for right now, Utah, BYU and San Diego State appear to be locks.
San Diego State avenged two earlier losses to BYU, finally getting past the hump and getting that big win. The Aztecs have been light on huge wins, but a three-game sweep over UNLV along with reaching the conference finals should be enough to get them in.
St. Mary's might be a bit upset seeing that the Gaels had knocked off the Aztecs in the Wooden Classic for the second consecutive year, but that might not hold much weight with the selection committee.
The struggles still remain for BYU in the Mountain West tournament. The Cougars were the runner's up in a pair of contentious tournament finals the past two years. Last year's final was marred by a fight between the BYU and San Diego State fans.
The BYU fans appeared to behave themselves following the loss. But then again, those fans have a lot of experience leaving the Thomas and Mack Center on the losing end.
