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5 potential bid stealers to monitor during Championship Week

This is March!

That means it’s time to identify some potential bid stealers to monitor prior to Championship Week.

Remember: A bid stealer is a team that has no chance of an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, but could be good enough to win its conference tournament.

Check out our list of nine below:

ACC

None.

Atlantic 10

St. Joe’s: Saint Louis is a lock to play in March Madness and VCU may very well follow suit if it can reach the finals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament this week in Pittsburgh, but do yourself a favor and don’t forget about the Hawks. Steve Donahue has done a tremendous job since taking over for Billy Lange and currently has this team on a six-game winning streak. St. Joe’s top two scorers — Jaiden Glover-Toscano (15.8 points, 4.9 rebounds) and Derek Simpson (13.7 points) — began their college careers at the power conference level at St. John’s and Rutgers respectively.

Big East

Seton Hall: Can the Pirates make Madison Square Garden their personal sanctuary this week? Don’t rule it out of the realm of possibility. Shaheen Holloway’s squad will open the Big East Tournament on Thursday against Creighton and could then face St. John’s and UConn back-to-back if they kept winning. While Seton Hall has yet to earn a win over the conference’s top two teams this season, they’ve taken both to the brink on multiple occasions. No one wants to play the Pirates.

Big 12

Cincinnati: The Bearcats are playing to extend their season this week in Kansas City. Wes Miller meanwhile, is hoping to extend his coaching tenure. A late-season surge has Cincinnati at 17-14 entering this week’s Big 12 Tournament, but the Bearcats will probably have to win three games in Kansas City to be in play to hear their names called on Selection Sunday. Cincinnati has won six of its last eight games, headlined by a double-digit victory over Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse.

Big Ten

None

Mountain West

Grand Canyon: A 20-win season in Bryce Drew’s first year in the Mountain West speaks volumes about this program’s long-term potential in the conference. A massive run this week in Las Vegas would amplify things in the short term. The Lopes have already beaten both Utah State and San Diego State this season all while being led by one of the best players in the Mountain West in 6-7 wing Jaden Henley (17.6 points).

San Diego State: It’s been an up-and-down year for the Aztecs, but this won’t be the first time that the Aztecs have had to go to Las Vegas and win multiple games during Championship Week. After failing to win any non-conference games of significance in November and December, San Diego State has hovered around the bubble for the majority of the season before losing four of its final six games down the stretch. Still, this roster has the experience, balance, and scoring pop to run the table this week in Sin City. Don’t bet against this program in March.

SEC

None

Leftovers