A lot of people are saying San Diego State has to win the Mountain West Conference Tournament to get in to the NCAA Tournament. The MWC Tourney champ gets an automatic berth in March Madness and the prevailing “wisdom” is the Aztecs don’t have a good enough resume to get in as an at-large team.
I’m not so sure that’s true.
The Aztecs were 47th in RPI with four top-100 wins before the MWC Tourney started. They have a neutral court win against California that has looked increasingly better as the season has progressed. Three of their losses are to top competition (Kansas, Utah, and West Virginia).
The one that sticks out like a sore thumb is the loss to USD (299th in RPI). Still, SDSU is in the middle of the pack in power rankings and that loss to the Toreros is their only one outside the RPI top 100.
Taking all that in to consideration I’d be shocked if the Aztecs didn’t get an at-large bid regardless of their MWC Tourney result.
Still, it’s a good idea not to leave anything to chance. SDSU is one win away from that automatic dance ticket after Friday night’s 67-55 win over Nevada in the semi-finals. The Aztecs put four players in double figures, led by sophomore guard Trey Kell’s 15 points, to advance to the Mountain West Championship game.
Senior forward Winston Shepard was right behind him with 13 points and seven rebounds. The Aztecs will face Fresno St. on Saturday for a spot in the 68-team NCAA Tournament field. The Bulldogs are one of two teams in the conerence to beat the Aztecs this season.
