Two Bid Stealers Are Lurking and Could Impact West Virginia's Tournament Fate

According to most NCAA Tournament projections, the West Virginia Mountaineers are expected to hear their name called when the bracket is revealed this evening at 6 p.m. ET.

That could change, however, if a couple of unexpected results take place this afternoon in the Atlantic 10 and American Athletic Conference championship games.

In the A10, VCU is a heavy favorite over George Mason. The Rams are considered to be a tournament team regardless of the outcome, meaning if George Mason were to be the ones climbing the ladder and cutting down the nets, the Atlantic 10 will be sending two teams to the dance, ultimately bursting the bubble for someone.

In the AAC, Memphis is a lock to make the tournament. They have a 28-5 record and sit 50th in the NET rankings, one spot above your beloved Mountaineers. Most projections have them as a No. 6 seed and some project WVU to be their first round matchup.

Their opponent in the conference championship, UAB, only gets in by winning today. At 22-11 and a ranking of 104 in the NET, the Blazers are nowhere near the bubble. But, they too, can wreck someone's day.

If both George Mason and UAB steal bids, it doesn't automatically kick West Virginia out of the field, it just makes the bracket reveal a little more nerve-wracking. No one is exactly sure of where the selection committee has the Mountaineers heading into today's games. But the Jerry Palm's and Joe Lunardi's of the world have a pretty good pulse on things and believe WVU is a potential First Four candidate.

West Virginia is more than likely in regardless of the two games mentioned above, but all stress for Darian DeVries and Co. would be relieved if VCU and Memphis just take care of business.

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