The 354 teams that won't win the 2024 national title -- and the eight that could - ESPN

Men's Champ Week is in full swing, which can mean only one thing. It's time for that rite of March known as «The 354 teams that won't win the national title.»

This venerable feature has appeared annually since 2016. True, the name has changed as the 300-something figure grows from year to year. The essentials, however, have remained the same.

Each year eight men's teams are selected. And each year the eventual national champion has come from this select group of eight.

This stupendous streak now stands at 7-for-7: Villanova, North Carolina, Villanova (again), Virginia, Baylor, Kansas and UConn.

As with any streak, there have been close calls. In fact, it's practically a tradition that the national runner-up will not be included in our group of eight teams. This tradition was observed faithfully by the presence of San Diego State in last year's title game.

Time to extend this streak one more year. Here are the 354 teams (in alphabetical order within each category) that will not win the 2024 national title.

Bellarmine Knights
Le Moyne Dolphins
Lindenwood Lions
Queens University Royals
St. Thomas-Minnesota Tommies
Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles
Stonehill Skyhawks
Tarleton State Texans
Texas A&M-Commerce Lions
UC San Diego Tritons
Utah Tech Trailblazers

Alabama Crimson Tide

It seems like every year the «near miss» cohort starts with the Crimson Tide. This is a tribute to both the program's excellence (Alabama hasn't been in «No clear path» for ages) and its good fortune alphabetically. Every Division I perimeter scorer who has seen what Ohio transfer Mark Sears has done in Tuscaloosa looks at Nate Oats and thinks: «Pick me! Pick me!» Over the back half of the SEC season, however, the Tide both scored and allowed 1.19 points per