I’ll admit: I became a big fan of Memphis and John Calipari. The team won 38 games, beat every big name opponent out of conference (save Tennessee and, eventually, Kansas ) yet was doubted every game in the tournament after the first weekend.

Sad reality? History says the Tigers are going to have a damn tough time getting back to the Final Four.

Over the last twenty years 19 teams have made more than one final four (North Carolina and Duke lead the way with eight appearances, with Kansas second at five). Out of those 19, how many non-BCS schools are there?

One: UNLV (’90 champs, and the ‘91 team, still IMHO the greatest team never to win a title, Final Four losers to Duke).

That’s not to say Memphis can’t do it again - with the signing of Tyreke Evans, Calipari is already rebuilding the losses of Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts. On paper, Memphis looks a lot like the UNLV teams of the late 80’s: Fast, athletic, and able to buck the trend of playing in a smaller conference. Keep in mind, as great as those Rebels teams were, that bunch only made one other final four: 1987, losing to Indiana (and another years before in ‘77).

What might the ‘08 Tigers legacy look like? Maybe the Rebels, but a number of great teams have made it once and never really been the same. After the jump, a list of the great 1-hit wonders of the Final Four, from both the non-BCS schools, the ones who someday would end up as BCS, and the randoms from the BCS.

1989 Seton Hall (Big East): Oh, how this team deserved to win the national title. Oh how they did. A stupid foul call in overtime put Michigan’s Rumeal Robinson at the line for two free throws, which he sank, and the Pirates lost title dreams. Come on: Who didn’t love Andrew Gaze?

PJ Carlesimo’s teams kept winning, making the regional finals in ‘91 (losing to an impossible UNLV team), the sweet 16 in ‘92, and got a 2-seed in ‘93. Sadly, PJ left for the big mistake of Portland in ‘94, and the Hall has never been the same.

1992 Cincinnati (Great Midwest): UC and UMass made their rise the same season, and while the Minutemen fell to Kentucky in the Sweet 16, the Bearcats used a fortunate draw to reach the semifinals. Still, this team was athletic, fast, and much better than the nation gave them credit, and was one point from reaching the Final Four again in 1993. But try as he might, Bob Huggins only reached one more regional final (losing to Mississippi State) and after a bunch of second-round losses and a DUI, the ‘Cats fired him in ‘05

1996 Massachusetts (Atlantic 10): Ok, the easy comparison. People forget, despite Kentucky’s tourney title, UMass entered as the top-ranked team in the country, and despite playing mediocre against UK, still had a shot to win the game. Sadly, Calipari left this team to coach the Nets, and UMass basketball has really never been the same.

1996 Mississippi State (SEC): Classic case of lightning in a bottle. Remember Dontae’ Jones, the JC transfer that lit up Cincinnati in the regional finals? Erick Dampier dominating 1-seed Connecticut, then the Bearcats? This was the same team that crushed a seemingly unbeatable Kentucky squad in the SEC tourney finals, went on this amazing run, then couldn’t beat a Syracuse team the Bulldogs seem to be better than.

1997 Minnesota (Big Ten): This was a truly great team, with Bobby Jackson, Eric Harris, silky smooth Sam Jacobsen. The Gophers won the Big Ten in the last season without a tournament. They rumbled through the tournament with an overtime win against Clemson and a come-from-behind win against Steve Lavin’s UCLA squad.

Then came the Final Four, where the Gophers turned the ball over a thousand times against Kentucky. And that started the program’s descent: Forward Courtney James started beating people up, coach Clem Haskins cheating came to light, and Minnesota has never been the same. Sad story.

1998 Utah: This year’s national title game is one fans almost don’t want to give to anyone. Utah should’ve won: The Utes were up ten at halftime, and Kentucky really wasn’t as good as the ‘97 or ‘96 version. Still, UK won, but fans there all refuse to give Tubby Smith credit since he did it with Rick Pitino’s players … yet the same fans refuse to give Pitino credit because they’re crazy, stubborn bastards.

Regardless, this was the best team Majerus coached, dominating Arizona (that year’s best squad) in the regional finals, then North Carolina in the semis. Utah lost to Miami (Ohio) in the second round of the dance the next year, and hasn’t been beyond the sweet sixteen since.

2002 Oklahoma: You know, we should’ve known things wouldn’t last when Kelvin Sampson lost to Mike Davis and Indiana.

The Sooners were a bruising team, and to the finals on tough wins over Xavier and Arizona got a fortunate draw, facing 12th-seed Missouri in the regional finals instead of 1-seed Cincinnati or 4-seed Ohio State. The Sooners couldn’t stop IU’s hot 3-point shooting in the final four, but did make the regional finals again the next year, losing to eventual national champ Syracuse. The Sooners never got back to the Final Four, and Sampson left in ‘06 to destroy the Indiana program.

2003 Marquette: Riding the wave of Dwyane Wade, the Golden Eagles stunned Kentucky in the regional finals to make the final four. But when Wade left, so did much success: Marquette missed the ‘04 tournament, and coach Tom Crean only won one more tournament game before bolting for Indiana.