Auction Block: Final Four Edition

With no Final Four first-timers, there are some bits of past lingering.

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"I can't sell you my ring if you don't give me a call!"

Technically speaking, 65 is not divisible by four. Nor are 25 or 53. But at various points throughout its history, the NCAA tournament has found a way to make them so.

There is always a Final Four.

From 1939-1950, just eight teams were invited to the post-season tournament. It was over almost as soon as it began. Imagine a team only having to win one measly game to reach the Final Four? As collegiate basketball evolved, more conferences were created, and more automatic bids were handed out, often leaving the brackets a bit messy, by our modern standards.

Up until 1975, there was no such thing as an at-large bid. Only conference champions were allowed to participate. By giving themselves permission to choose additional teams, the NCAA was able to bring in teams that might have ranked second in their conference, but also in the nation, as the 1971 USC Trojans did.

The numbers made sense for a while after that—32 teams, 40 teams, 48 teams. When the numbers got a bit strange in '83 (52 teams) and '84 (53 participants) the first round was preceded by four play-in games. The Richmond team that pulled a No. 12 over No. 5 upset of Auburn in 1984 had already played one game, having to beat Rider just for the privilege of earning that low seed.

Starting in 1985, we had fifteen solid years of nicely divisible 64-team brackets, until a few WAC members got uppity and split away to form the Mountain West, creating an awkward number of auto-bids. Rather than reduce the number of at-large berths, the NCAA once again put in a play-in, which they now euphemistically call "the opening round".

Regardless of how it all starts, it always comes down to four, and then to two. This year's Final Four has been derided as "chalk", having no seed lower than a No. 3 still in contention. It's true that the collection of teams that remain this season are mostly comfortable with the notion of playing on the last weekend. Jim Calhoun has two national championships already, and Tom Izzo and Roy Williams have one apiece. Only Villanova's Jay Wright is a rookie regional champ, but 'Nova has one of the more famous titles ever.

With four very familiar schools in this year's FF, we thought we'd take a look at what kind of memorabilia is out there for these championship weekend frequent fliers.

Midwest: #2 Michigan State

1979 "We're #1" headline: Yes, it was one of the greatest championship games ever, what with the whole Bird vs. Magic thang. But asking a reserve of $149.99 for an old hunk of newsprint may actually be information superhighway robbery.

1979 Final Four program: Yeah, this is more like it. This guy trusts the market to establish value. Here's the original program, with features on all four teams (including Penn and DePaul!!!) that made it. And what is estatebait1 asking for this gem? A bargain-basement 0.99, that's what.

Signed basketball: T to the Izzo. The legendary coach of the Flintstones and… whatever we're calling this year's group signed this extremely green piece of leather in silver sharpie.

Team-signed floorboard: Something tells us these boards have never been trod upon. Nonetheless, this piece of lacquered wood has all of the big names from this year's team scrawled across every available inch of space. And that's gotta be worth something.

West: #1 Connecticut

Ray Allen's uni: The back story is a little murky here—there's no assertion that it's game-worn and no offer of a certificate of authenticity—but you don't always get a shot at an original Jesus Shuttlesworth jersey, right?

1999 UConn Mug: It might be kind of cool to quaff your celebratory adult beverage out of a ten-year-old mug, right? Right. Just might want to wash it first.

UConn earrings: These might be a tad much for a dinner date, but would look dyanamite at your Final Four viewing party. And, if your Huskies win, you absolutely must wear them while overturning cars in downtown Storrs.

East: #3 Villanova

1985 Gtown/Nova Coke Can: This can rules on two levels. First, it's an authentic link to the miracle '85 Wildcats. Second, according to the seller, it originally contained "New Coke".

1985 mesh "trucker" cap: As the seller says "What would Rollie do?" Coach Massimino would probably go beat the dickens out of Georgetown and then refuse to wear this hat, that's what. But it is a pretty cool vintage curio, especially since this type of cap had a bit of a resurgence in popularity recently.

Signed Nardi jersey: Yes, Nardi signed his own jersey, but so did his teammates, including Reynolds, Cunningham, and the Cories.

South: #1 North Carolina

1993 Championship Ring: The seller goes on for about six paragraphs swearing up and down that he bought this from an actual player who was on the team that beat the Fab Five in New Orleans. But he won't say exactly who. Our money's on Ed Geth.

1957 autographed Joe Quigg card: Quigg was a member of the Tar Heels' first championship team, the undefeated 1957 squad. Here he is in all his black-and-white glory. Pit hair and all.

Two-foot-high Tar Heel statue: If you're one of those folks who's confused about what exactly a Tar Heel is, this isn't going to help you. This 'roided out ram statue has nothing to do with Final Four appearances, but it sure will start conversations.

Let us know if you spot anything interesting on the auction block at collectespn@gmail.com

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