March Madness 2024: 5 bid thieves capable of stealing an NCAA Tournament spot

UNLV Runnin' Rebels

Trying to handicap the 2024 Mountain West Tournament is a fool's errand since the league's top teams have taken turns beating each other all season long to put the conference in position to send six teams dancing. The seventh-best team, UNLV, is the bid thief threat here since they have home-court advantage with the tournament being played at the Thomas & Mack Center and earned the No. 4 seed during the regular season.

The Runnin' Rebels have shown an ability to compete with the league's best, posting a 12-6 Mountain West record that included a sweep of New Mexico and home wins over San Diego State and Colorado State. There is every reason to believe UNLV can win three more "home" games and swipe a bid away from a team like the Lobos, who are in the most precarious bubble position of a Mountain West team.

Colorado Buffaloes

The Pac-12 is, in all likelihood, a three-bid league at most during their final season together. Arizona and Washington State are locks while Colorado is floating around the cut line thanks to some shaky results in conference play.

The Buffaloes are hot, however, having ripped off six straight wins to end the regular season and don't have to worry about dealing with Arizona until a potential championship matchup. The Wildcats have looked vulnerable and could get picked off before then, leaving the door wide open for Colorado to upset Washington State in the semifinals and win the Pac-12's auto bid to move officially into the field at the expense of a fellow bubble team.