As well as North Carolina has played in winning six consecutive games, and even with its opportunity Saturday with Duke visiting, the Tar Heels must beware of what they can’t control. Bid stealers.

It happens every season when a team nowhere near the NCAA Tournament conversation and is in a league that includes a team that’s a lock for an at-large invitation, wins its conference tournament. Last season, five bid stealers found their way to the big dance, including NC State winning five games in five days in the ACC Tournament in Washington, D.C.

In diving into the national landscape, it appears there are eight conferences that could produce a bid stealer. There are two kinds: One is a middle team from a power conference emerges and cuts down the nets, like the Wolfpack did last March, and the lesser leagues like Big West where UC-San Diego is a probable lock to get in even without winning its tourney, but its league could get a second bid if UCSD doesn’t win the title.

Here are eight conferences that could yield bid stealers that would make UNC’s quest for an at-large invitation more challenging: