ESPN Men's Basketball

LAS VEGAS -- When Kawhi Leonard put pen to paper and signed his national letter of intent in November 2008, it was somewhat of a head-scratcher.

San Diego State had just landed California's Mr. Basketball. He went on to become the conference's freshman of the year. Today, you can also call Leonard the Mountain West Conference tournament's MVP, as he led the Aztecs to the NCAAs with a 21-rebound, 16-point performance in a 55-45 win against UNLV.

"He's at San Diego State for this," Aztecs coach Steve Fisher said. "For this. He knew where people would care for him. He knew where we would be true to helping him grow his game, grow him as a person. And he trusted in us.

"We don't have to get on knee pads to recruit against the Pac-10. We don't beat 'em often. But we got a guy that right now they would all love a mulligan to try to get involved with him."

These Aztecs aren't exactly the "Fab Five" Fisher had at Michigan, but somehow on a smaller stage, he's pieced together a championship team with players who needed a second chance.

Leonard stuck with San Diego State when Pac-10 schools didn't seem as interested.

Guard Kelvin Davis, who carried the league trophy into the press conference, transferred out of UTEP, beat Hodkin's lymphoma and then cashed in his sixth year of eligibility with a title.

Center Brian Carlwell got a change of scenery and provided a 297-pound presence in the middle after literally being left for dead by a University of Illinois teammate after a 2007 car crash.

Junior college transfer Malcolm Thomas and freshman Chase Tapley were a part of the recruiting class with Leonard that put the Aztecs over the top.

"I have said to many people that this is a great group of guys to be with. They're respectful. We've had more compliments this year on airplanes and hotels and in airports about that with our kids.

"They respect one another. They trust one another. They have pride in one another. And that wins."

Leonard cleaned up on the glass on UNLV's errant shots and also hit all eight of his second-half free throws to help seal the win. As Fisher said, "Kawhi is Kawhi. Every ball that comes off the board is his."

Fisher and Leonard also made sure to spread around credit for the championship. The scoring came from Billy White. The tough point guard play came from D.J. Gay.

Leonard said he didn't necessarily envision any of this when he first set foot on campus.

"We just set team goals," Leonard said.

San Diego State is off to the NCAA tournament after beating UNLV on its home floor 55-45, and the Aztecs will go dancing for the first time since 2006.

Kawhi Leonard set a Mountain West Conference tournament record with a career-high 21 rebounds to go along with 16 points to lead the Aztecs, and he was named the MVP of the event.

San Diego State committed 18 turnovers, but also forced 15 of them, with UNLV shooting only 32.7 percent from the field.

It was San Diego State students who rushed the floor at the Thomas & Mack Center after chanting "this is our house" in the game's waning moments.

Point guard D.J. Gay added 11 points, and senior Kelvin Davis had nine.

UNLV got 11 points each out of Tre'Von Willis and Oscar Bellfield.

LAS VEGAS -- Yep, you read that right. Some notes:

• One way to tell this is an ugly game is by looking at the total number of made field goals (18) versus turnovers (14) by the two teams combined. Thirteen field goal attempts missed before San Diego State's Kelvin Davis scored on a dunk with nearly five minutes having elapsed. UNLV's first field goal came after that one a banked in jumper from Oscar Bellfield.
• Kawhi Leonard continues to show off his tools. He has already collected a whopping 13 rebounds, including five offensive boards. The Aztecs also happen to have 13 more rebounds than the Rebels, who are still missing that interior presence with Derrick Jasper out.
• Billy White, the Las Vegas native, has only one point after scoring a career-high 28 last night for San Diego State.

On the end of the San Diego State bench is a walk-on in full uniform, the only difference with this player being that he's always got a clipboard in hand.

A four-year student manager, Ben Kneller recently got rewarded for his service by coach Steve Fisher, who surprised the 6-foot-6 senior by getting his NCAA paperwork together and allowing him to suit up and even score a point on Senior Day (his first free throw was an airball).

Kneller played again three days later at Air Force, and during the Mountain West Conference tournament, he's been pulling double duty with his managing duties while in uniform and even collecting the warm-ups of his teammates before the opening tip.

That he's wearing a jersey isn't just a nice gesture, as the Aztecs have been banged up enough to where they might need him for emergency action.

LAS VEGAS -- UNLV might have the advantage playing at the Thomas & Mack Center in today's Mountain West Conference tournament championship game, but for San Diego State's Billy White, this is home.

The Las Vegas native scored a career-high 28 points in last night's semifinal upset of New Mexico, and UNLV will have its hands full to try to contain the star forward.

"I told him before the game, 'Make your mom proud,'" Aztecs coach Steve Fisher said after the win. "Afterward, I said, 'You made everyone proud.'"

White wasn't biting when asked if his team had already clinched an NCAA tournament berth with last night's win.

"I don't know," he said. "We're not worried about that right now."

The two teams split the regular season series, but San Diego State is coming off beating its highest-ranked opponent away from home in school history.

UNLV counters with Tre'Von Willis, who did as well as anyone in pestering BYU star Jimmer Fredette in last night's semifinal.

The Rebels own the tournament's best record over its 11-year history and have visions of celebrating an automatic NCAA tournament bid in front of their home fans.

I typed that headline in shortly after the San Diego State win, only to later realize Andy Katz tweeted the same thing.

We think it's going to happen. The first sellout Mountain West Conference tournament crowd of 18,500 saw it for themselves.

And for the rest of the nation, well, UNLV forward Chace Stanback is hoping you were paying attention to the four teams he thinks should all get to dance.

"I definitely think it was proved tonight," he said. "San Diego State won, and we played well. There's a lot of talent in this league. I don't think people realize that. We showed it."

The conference has shined over two days of games, featuring big performances from stars like New Mexico's Darington Hobson and BYU's Jimmer Fredette. Transfers like Stanback from UCLA and Tre'Von Willis from Memphis impressed for UNLV.

And San Diego State features a freshman talent named Kawhi Leonard who Pac-10 schools left alone. He stepped up tonight with big 3-pointers that put New Mexico down early -- big shots considering he shoots .219 from beyond the arc.

So let's talk up the MWC.

Asked to state his team's case after San Diego State defeated eighth-ranked New Mexico, coach Steve Fisher declined and said, "Our goal is to cut down the nets tomorrow.

"We added to the resume with this win, no question about it."

But Lobos coach Steve Alford, whose last lost came more than two months ago, was more willing to say it. He had seen enough of the Aztecs to know they deserved a bid.

"There's no doubt in my mind," he said.

LAS VEGAS -- UNLV made it a second semifinal upset with a 70-66 win against BYU to advance to tomorrow's title game against San Diego State.

Jimmer Fredette scored 30 points on 7-of-20 shooting to lead BYU, but the Rebels got big contributions out of Tre'Von Willis (18 points) and Chace Stanback (17 points, six rebounds).

Trailing by three, the No. 2-seeded Cougars watched as Michael Loyd Jr.'s floater missed with 14. 7 seconds left and Willis hit all his free throws in the closing seconds to seal it.

Playing on their home floor, the No. 3-seeded Rebels grabbed a seven-point halftime lead, led by as many as 11, and for the game shot 55.6 percent from the field. Last month, they beat BYU here by 14 and played with confidence.

More importantly, UNLV added another win against a ranked team in collecting its 25th victory overall.

BYU, meanwhile, hopes to earn its 30th win in the NCAA tournament.

Some notes from halftime:

• UNLV is looking for the second upset of the night at the Mountain West Conference tournament and is hitting big shots against BYU. The Rebels are 8-of-11 from beyond the arc.

• Tyler Haws is in street clothes and unavailable to play with an eye swollen shut after getting poked in the eye last night. He was replaced in the lineup by Michael Loyd Jr., who has five points.

• Jimmer Fredette has 12 points and is 4-for-8 from the field. He's coming off a 45-point game against TCU, and during this game, has quietly done some lobbying with the refs about calls that didn't go his way.

• Chace Stanback leads UNLV with 11 points, with the UCLA transfer hitting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. He's also the team's leading rebounder thus far with four.

LAS VEGAS -- Judging by the shirt-popping and dance moves that San Diego State players exhibited after the game, it appears the Aztecs think they might have unofficially punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament.

Taking down New Mexico, the No. 8 team in the nation, and snapping the Lobos' 15-game winning streak with a 72-69 win in a Mountain West Conference tournament semifinal could very well do it.

Billy White scored 28 points and led the celebration afterward, as the No. 4-seeded Aztecs survived a length-of-the-court driving layup attempt from Dairese Gary with .7 seconds left.

Kawhi Leonard added 15 points, including the final two free throws. He got San Diego State started quickly, knocking down back-to-back three-pointers to help the Aztecs score the game's first 11 points.

The Lobos went to the hot hand at the end of the game, as Gary finished with 17, and his desperation heave at the buzzer fell short as well.

LAS VEGAS -- The best half of the whole tournament was just played here at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Some notes:

• Dairese Gary hit a floater with about four seconds left to give New Mexico its first lead, capping a half in which they were in comeback mode the entire time. The Aztecs scored the game's first 11 points and led by as many as 12, but the Lobos clawed their way back behind Gary, who has 14 points and has hit all five free throws.

• Billy White's ankle apparently isn't bothering him during this game, as the forward leads all scorers with 17 points. White is a tough matchup down low because of his quickness. Thus far, he's 6-of-8 from the field and has hit all four of his free throws.

• Darington Hobson had a relatively quiet half, as the Aztecs did a nice job of defending the perimeter. To Hobson's credit, he hasn't shown any sign of panic despite his early shots not falling. He has six points on 2-of-6 shooting, but also three assists.

• Aztecs freshman Kawhi Leonard continues to impress, as the forward stepped out beyond the arc and hit two 3-pointers to start the game and put the Lobos on their heels. He has eight points and six rebounds already.

LAS VEGAS -- Big night here at the Thomas & Mack Center, where the top four seeds will go at it.

Game 1: No. 1 New Mexico vs. No. 4 San Diego State

A San Diego State win would do wonders for the Aztecs' NCAA tournament hopes, and they have had good success against New Mexico. They won by 10 in San Diego and then took the Lobos to overtime at The Pit before falling. New Mexico, after losing that game in January, dropped a second straight game to UNLV, but since then have won 15 in a row. Darington Hobson had a huge game against the Aztecs in New Mexico's win and his play during Thursday's quarterfinal win against Air Force was befitting of a conference player of the year. Picking up win No. 30 for the Steve Alford's Lobos, who have plenty of fans in town, would add another quality win to their résumé for seeding purposes.

Game 2: No. 2 BYU vs. No. 3 UNLV

Jimmer Fredette might have scored 45 points in a quarterfinal win Thursday night against TCU, but his point totals against UNLV this season haven't necessarily decided the outcome. Battling health issues, he scored only seven in a win against UNLV at home and 21 in a loss on the road. Home-court advantage will help the Rebels, who are hoping for another big game out of Tre'Von Willis after he scored a career-high 33 in that win against BYU. Even in the loss, he had 24. It should be a good battle between the two. BYU guard Tyler Haws will be a game-time decision after missing shootaround to see a doctor about the swelling from being poked in the eye.

LAS VEGAS -- The four NCAA tournament hopefuls in the Mountain West Conference all took care of business Thursday.

New Mexico, BYU and San Diego State scratched out wins against the lower seeds, and in the nightcap, UNLV made itself look good by strutting to a 12-point win against defending tournament champion Utah.

Tre'Von Willis and Anthony Marshall scored 13 points each to lead the Rebels, who picked up their 24th win. Marshall also had 12 rebounds and five assists.

UNLV moves on to face BYU tomorrow in one semifinal with New Mexico and San Diego State playing in the other.

"When you come here, you learn this is a rivalry game," Willis said of BYU. "It's definitely going to be a fight tomorrow."

Tournament organizers couldn't have drawn this up any better, all four teams have opportunities to shine tomorrow, with the selection committee somewhere out there paying attention.

LAS VEGAS - Some halftime thoughts as UNLV plays on its home court at the Thomas & Mack Center...

• UNLV has let Utah crawl back into this one after being up by double-digits. Despite shooting 30 percent from the field, the Utes have made more than half their 3-pointers and all but one of their free throws.

• Utah is happy to have defensive player of the year David Foster back in the lineup and Kim Tillie also playing after both missed games due to sprained ankles. Foster, the 7-foot-3 center, already has two blocks to go along with six points and three rebounds.

• UNLV had nine players in the scoring column, with Darris Santee leading them with six points. Anthony Marshall has five points and three assists. Leading scorer Tre'Von Willis was held to five points and had three turnovers.

LAS VEGAS -- Nothing says "Welcome back, Jimmer Fredette" like a 45-point outing.

It came during a 95-85 win in which BYU struggled in guarding a hot-shooting TCU team, trailed at the half and lost starting guard Tyler Haws to an eye injury.

As the BYU fan in the building wearing the T-shirt asked, "What would Jimmer do?

Put on a show by smashing the Mountain West Conference tournament single-game record and threaten his own school-record of 49 points set earlier this season.

Perhaps of greater importance to a team that hopes to make a run in the NCAA tournament was that Fredette was seen smiling again, pumping his fists, and of course, making buckets.

That's in stark contrast to games since the explosion against Arizona that was followed up by bouts with strep throat, mononucleosis and a stomach virus. The image of Fredette was of him on the bench looking tired, and even worse, unhappy.

Tonight, he went 10-for-23 from the field, making an amazing 23-of-24 free throws.

"I've seen Shaq get fouled a lot, but he hasn't made as many as Jimmer," teammate Jackson Emery mused.

If Fredette had made more than 2 of his 10 attempts from 3-point range, he might have gone for 50. He settled for putting up the third-most points in a single game in school history.

In other words, he's back.

LAS VEGAS -- Here's some halftime items from the quarterfinal game between BYU and TCU.

• "Jimmer!" one BYU fan cried. "They're tied with us!" It was a plea of sorts. As in, "Really, guys? TCU?" Yep, the Horned Frogs have the one-point advantage after Ronnie Moss hit a floater before going in the locker room. TCU was up during the first half as well on Saturday against BYU, but of course, the Cougars went on to win by 30.
• Jimmer Fredette is starting to look a lot more like himself again after recently battling a stomach virus. He has 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, and more importantly has played 18 minutes. That's right around what he's averaged for entire games over the previous three games.
• Moss has 15 points as well and is 6 of 8 from the field, and TCU got seven points apiece from Edvinas Ruzgas and Nikola Cerina.
• BYU needs to pick it up on defense, as the Horned Frogs shot 50 percent from the field. TCU is getting open looks, hitting 5 of 7 from three-point range.
• It looks to be a good crowd out here for the night session. A lot of UNLV fans are in the house to see their team play Utah after this one, and BYU also travels well.