The Final Four by the eBay Stats

By Matthew Shepatin
March 31, 2011

Final Four

Clockwise from top left: Butler; Kentucky; UConn; VCU

Butler and VCU face off in the NCAA tournament semifinal at Reliant Stadium in Houston, TX this Saturday.

I know what you’re thinking: Who moved April Fool’s Day to March?

The answer is nobody. This is happening. It’s as real as your busted bracket.

No number one seeds in the March Madness Final Four. No Kansas. No Duke. No Ohio State. No Pitt. They're not happening.

Not a single #2 seed, either.

This hasn’t happened since the NCAA began seeding in 1979. It’s happening now.

Two college basketball teams from non-power conferences are among the only ones left at the tail end of the NCAA tournament. Happening.

#3 Connecticut Huskies, #4 Kentucky Wildcats, #8 Butler Bulldogs and #11 Virginia Commonwealth Rams. . . It's the highest collective seed total post-1979. And it's happening.

VCU, the Sweet 16 team with the fewest votes in ESPN’s poll of who will make the Final Four (they only got 5.9%) is playing in Houston this weekend. Happening.

Jay Bilas, Dick Vitale and other experts are eating crow after saying that the Rams of the tiny Colonial Athletic Association didn’t belong in the tournament. Happening.

Butler becoming the first team from Indiana to ever make back-to-back trips to the Final Four. Sorry, Bobby Knight. Happening.

Butler losing Gordon Hayward, their best player from last year’s NCAA tourney, leading many people to predict a first-round upset to Old Dominion. It’s didn’t happen.

Butler still dancing. Happening.

Connecticut, who stumbled into the Big East tournament as a #9 seed, winning an improbable nine games in 19 days to snag the conference title and then continuing one of the greatest post-season runs in NCAA basketball history with four more wins in the tourney. Happening.

UConn's Kemba Walker. Happening.

Kentucky, after losing five players to the NBA draft, downing overall number-one seed Ohio State and powerhouse #2 UNC to punch their ticket to Houston. Happening.

John Calipari leading his third team to a Final Four after taking UMass in 1996 and Memphis in 2008. Happening.

So, what does this all mean for the four teams remaining? A spike in applications, for one. "Last year all of our applications had already come in when the team went to the tournament, so we know the majority of the affect have been in this year, and that's really what we've seen,” Tom Weede, Butler’s Vice President for Enrollment told local Indianapolis news outlet WISH. “They've gone from 6,700 to about 9,400.” Tom Weede reported that applications jumped 41% since Butler’s magical run to the Finals.

We won’t be surprised if Shaka Smart’s Cinderella Rams of VCU also experience a similar boost from their sudden turn in the spotlight.

While the benefits in terms of enrollment might be less dramatic for perennial powerhouses Kentucky and UConn, they are sure to generate extra revenue. According to Forbes, Kentucky generated $16.8 million in basketball revenue last season, the seventh most in the nation among universities.

So we wondered: Is there a similar bump in terms of eBay sales statistics of memorabilia on online auctions for each of the respective Final Four schools? Turns out there often is, though smaller guys felt the Ram-ifications more acutely.

We compared the average price for eBay auction items with each NCAA Final Four team's name in the listing from the ten-day period immediately before the tournament (3/5-3/14) with the ten days since the tournament began (3/15-3/24). Here’s what we found, ranked according to eBay statistics of the highest average price in the latter period, along with some great eBay finds.

The Final Four According to eBay Statistics:

VCU Rams

Average price of basketball memorabilia pre-tournament: $9.99 (one item). Average Price since NCAA tournament began: $28.46. % Change: +184%

VCU vs. the Georgetown Hoyas, March 18, 2011. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Roll over items for details

New VCU Rams Shaka Smart Basketball T-shirt

(buy it now price, $14.95)

New 2011 VCU Rams NCAA Final Four Championship Belt

(buy it now price, $39.99)

Butler Bulldogs

Average price of basketball memorabilia pre-tournament: $18.87. Average Price since NCAA tournament began: $21.18. % Change: +12%.

The Butler Bulldogs celebrate with the trophy after defeating the Florida Gators 74 to 71 in overtime during the Southeast regional final of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament, March 26, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

2011 Butler Bulldogs Team Signed Basketball Floor Mack

(buy it now price, $149.99)

Gordon Hayward Signed Butler Bulldogs Jersey

(buy it now price, $249.99)

UConn Huskies

Average price of basketball memorabilia pre-tournament: $15.50. Average Price since NCAA tournament began: $18.62. % Change: +20%.

Head coach Jim Calhoun and the Connecticut Huskies celebrate after defeatng the Arizona Wildcats to win the west regional final of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament, March 26, 2011. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

UCONN Huskies Team Signed Jersey Authentic 2011

(starting bid, $99.99)

Kemba Walker McDonald's Rookie Card

(buy it now price, $199.99)

Kentucky Wildcats

Average price of basketball memorabilia pre-tournament: $19.31. Average Price since NCAA tournament began: $15.18. % Change: -21%.

The Kentucky Wildcats celebrate after defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes in the east regional semifinal of the 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, March 25, 2011. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)