He walked in the room effortlessly. He let a sophomoric Bonaventure welding joke roll right off his back. He sat down, perused the room and quickly and decisively nabbed two number #1 seeds. He stood up, nodded at his partner and the Commish, and in a low voice said "My work is done here."
The 15th annual Calcutta is off and running and Danny Sheridan after an agonizing three hours of study has set the morning lines after one of the strangest, most bizarre draft nights in Calcutta history. Peeps hanging on to their dough til nothing but teenager seeds were left, peeps spending early.
The teams are already listed in the "Results To Date" tab on the right sidebar and will be updated nightly after each day's games.
Our usual team-by-team analysis, with Sheridan's morning line, average seed ratings, and likely sleepers will follow. Last year's morning line fav, the Elders, finished dead last, so the whammy is still live and kicking. The second choice last year (the Counselors at 7-2) edged out the Catholic Boyz who reached the record books with record-tying 7 first round victories, but petered out in the stretch.
And the morning line favorite is........
Bunch of Chieftains (3-1, 9.3 ASR). The Chief was not effing around on Tuesday night. He quickly grabbed 1-Indiana and 1-Kansas and within the first 15 minutes he had the top two seeds on the right side of the bracket. If things go according to Hoyle, they could guarantee 9 points and a shot at the national championship. If they pick up a first round victory out of Big East brethren 7-Notre Dame or 8-Pitt out of the West Region, they could run away with this thing. Of course, the NCAA tourney never goes according to Hoyle. I really like their chances. Sleeper: 12-Oregon. Last team in has proven its worth in the last few tourneys, playing with a chip on their shoulder, the Ducks could sneak a win in the vaunted 5-12 game.
Tax Men (4-1, 7.8 ASR). The Tax Guys had the second lowest average seed rating on draft night and came away with some solid teams. Their top seeds 2-Duke, 3-New Mexico and 4-Syracuse are all capable of cutting down the nets in Atlanta and could pile up some lower seeded wins. Not having the Calcutta in a pre-3/15 scenario had this squad fresh and ready to roll. Sleeper pick: 9-Wichita State.
Commish & Assoc. (6-1, 7.4 ASR). The Commish & Co came out of the Calcutta feeling as good as they have in the past. Generating the lowest ASG in the Calcutta means they'll be counting on some mid-level seeds to win a game or two. Top seeds include Big East partners, 2-Georgetown and 3-Marquette and Big 12 challengers 4-Kansas State and 5-Oklahoma State. If the Commish can avoid some early upsets they'll be in the mix next weekend. Sleeper pick: 10-Iowa State.
Win-Doctors (6-1, 8.3 ASR). The banter just isn't the same without Artie in da house. His teammates did him proud (I think) and will challenge to continue their run on national champions (4 of last 5 years - incredible) with 1-Gonzaga. But are they tournament tough? Lots of marbles in the 3-Michigan State basket, but coach Izzo has always thrived in the tourney. This is the one morning line that could totally fall apart. Sleeper Pick: 7-Creighton.
Elder Statesmen (8-1, 8.0 ASR). Is there any surprise that the Elders were a) first to hit the bathroom or b) right on the average of 8 in their average seed ratng? They held tight to the purse strings for most of the night, but ended up with a decent 2-Ohio State team that could go a long way. They'll need some upsets to make any noise, but can't see them doing any better than the back end of the trifecta. Sleeper Pick: 10-Oklahoma.
Three Amigos (15-1, 7.8 ASR). Don't let that low ASR fool ya. They may cash early, but it may not be often enough. Their lowest two seeds, 3-Florida and 4-Michigan are in the same region and although they have no seed higher than 13, they'll need a sleeper to make a 2 or 3 game run to make any noise. I'm not seeing it. Sleeper pick: 12-Ole Miss.
Counselors (40-1, 10.4 ASR). The defending champs struck early with 1-Louisville, then sat on their cash, decided to pass on Ohio State, which was ripe for the picking and settled on 2-Miami (FL). The problem here is other than 6-UCLA, they have nothing lower than a 14 seed and that spells trouble with a capital T. Sure, they can make a run with their two top seeds, but I saw a dejected duo that walked out of the Calcutta on Tuesday. Only the Tax Men (2006, 2010, 2012 - do you see a pattern?) have had a higher ASR. Sleeper Pick: Grab a dart board.
Catholic Boyz (50-1, 9.6 ASR). This team obviously inhaled too much white smoke from last week's Pope festivities. Freddy's gonna go Krueger when he sees this sorry lineup. Lowest seed is 4-Saint Louis. Ouch. Paid $18 for 15-Pacific. That tells the whole story. Sleeper Pick: 8-Colorado State.
Many thanks to Kelly for helping me with the Big Board, we couldn't have sailed through the draft as smoothly as we did without his help.
Good luck everyone!
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