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6 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.

Check out our list of nine below:

American Athletic Conference

North Texas: The two seed in this week’s AAC Tournament is led by an elite defensive coach in Ross Hodge, who was Grant McCasland’s apprentice before he left for Texas Tech. The Mean Green have already tallied 23 wins and have held their last 12 opponents to 66 points or fewer. North Texas could quickly put any of its opponents this week in a meat grinder.

UAB: Andy Kennedy’s squad stole a bid a year ago and don’t be shocked if history repeats itself. The Blazers have a star in 6-9 big man Yaxel Lendeborg (17.3 points, 10.7 rebounds) and have advanced to March Madness multiple times in the past few years with Kennedy as the steward. Keep your eyes on a potential Memphis-UAB title game next Sunday in the finals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.

ACC

North Carolina: The Tar Heels only own one Quad 1 on their resume, but they still have enough perimeter talent — led by fifth-year senior RJ Davis (17.3 points, 3.8 assists, 3.6 rebounds) — to make a run during Championship Week. There arent enough Quad 1 opportunities in the ACC Tournament for North Carolina to earn an at-large bid, but that doesn’t mean that this team can’t win four games in four days this week. Hubert Davis’ squad will play the winner of Pitt/Notre Dame on Wednesday in the second round of the event.

Big East

Villanova: The Big East’s most mercurial team has been difficult to figure out all season. The Wildcats own wins over St. John’s, UConn, Marquette, and Xavier, but have also lost to Columbia and Virginia. Kyle Neptune has an elite player in Eric Dixon (23.6 points, 5.4 rebounds) and a strong veteran supporting cast with Wooga Poplar, Jordan Longino, and Jhamir Brickus. The question is whether or not this group can be consistent enough to win four games in four days at the Big East Tournament. It’s now or never for Neptune and Villanova.

Big 12

Kansas State: Jerome Tang’s team will only take a 15-16 record into its Big 12 Tournament opener on Tuesday against Arizona State, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not dangerous. The Wildcats have been up and down all season long, but they’ve showed moments of promise in wins against Arizona and Kansas as well as a dominant road triumph at Iowa State. Kansas State has a roster that can win multiple games this week in Kansas City.

Big Ten

None

Mountain West

Colorado State: The Rams are 17-4 in their last 21 games after starting the season 5-5. Niko Medved’s team also boasts one of the Mountain West’s best players in 6-6 wing Nique Clifford (18.6 points, 9.7 rebounds), who had 36 points in Colorado State’s win last Friday at Boise State. The Rams will enter this week’s Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas with all sorts of momentum.

SEC

None

Leftovers