Utah State had no interest in waiting until Selection Sunday to learn its NCAA tournament fate.
The Aggies entered the Mountain West tournament in Las Vegas squarely on the bubble for an at-large bid, but took matters into their own hands by winning three games in three days and knocking off No. 5 San Diego State to lock up the first automatic bid to the Big Dance Saturday afternoon. USU rallied from 16 down in the closing minutes of the first half to win in thrilling fashion, stunning the predominantly pro-Aztec crowd with a stepback Sam Merrill three for the win with 2.