Final Four Report: Docs Clinch Tie, Commish Closing Late

Fat lady is humming

Amherst, N.Y. -- The Win-Doctors (11 points) clinched a tie for the overall title, capturing their fifth title, they'll attempt to win it outright for the fourth time with either a Villanova or North Carolina win on Saturday in the Final Four. The Docs' title run was aided by an impressive performance by Villanova on Saturday night taking down the overall No. 1 seed, Kansas sending the Bunch to the sidelines.

The Commish (8 points) is at the quarter pole and is making a late closing move, taking two teams to the Final Four and moving to the outside eyeing the three teams in front of him. Riding a wave of Orange and Maroon, Team Commish will need another upset of a #1 seed to even sniff a first ever Calcutta title. The Catholic Boyz (9 points) clinched a tie for at least third after a record-breaking first round.

The Counselors (9 points) Billy Ball strategy flamed out in the Elite Eight when 6-Notre Dame was ousted by the Tar Heels, leaving them saddled in a tie with the Catholic Boyz and rooting against the Commish on the weekend to maintain the currrent second-place status.

The Tax Men have the lowest seed remaining in the tournament and prohibitive favorite to win it all in Carolina.

And with the big 10-Syracuse, upset...it's that time of the year that we inevitably get to, albeit rather later than usual this year.......

Adios Amigos

So here's what we have and the eight possible national championship scenarios starting with the favorites and working down to the underdog:

Scenario #1: If North Carolina beats Villanova
Win-Docs 1000
Catholic Boyz 400
Counselors 400
Tax Men 200

Scenario #2: If North Carolina beats Oklahoma
Win-Docs 1000
Catholic Boyz 267
Counselors 267
Commish 266
Tax Men 200

Scenario #3: If Villanova beats North Carolina
Win-Docs 1,200
Catholic Boyz 400
Counselors 400

Scenario #4: If Villanova beats Syracuse
Win-Docs 1,200
Catholic Boyz 267
Counselors 267
Commish 266

Scenario #5: If Oklahoma beats North Carolina
Win-Docs 1,000
Commish 700
Catholic Boys 150
Counselors 150

Scenario #6: If Oklahoma beats Syracuse
Commish 950
Win-Docs 750
Catholic Boys 150
Counselors 150

Scenario #7: If Syracuse beats Villanova
Win Docs 1,000
Commish 466
Catholic Boyz 267
Counselors 267

Scenario #8: If Syracuse beats Oklahoma
Commish 950
Win-Docs 750
Catholic Boys 150
Counselors 150

There you have it...it's still up in the air, and up to five teams can cash going into the Final Four.

Good luck!

Elite Eight Report: The Doctor Is In

Sure looking that way, isn't it?

Amherst, N.Y. -- The Win-Doctors sat in the clubhouse watching the competition dwindle away on Friday night, with only a Fighting Irish upset away from putting the Counselors behind them and taking the 2016 Calcutta.

The four-time champions sit atop the Calcutta with 1-Oregon and 2-Villanova ready to lock up this year's yellow jacket with either a 6-Notre Dame loss and a couple wins out of his charges. They'll have to face formidable charges in 2-Oklahoma and 1-Kansas, so there is hope that someone can still sneak in and catch a piece of this thing.

The Counselors are down to their legal briefs!

The Counselors (9 points) secured a spot in the top three with its dramatic late-game victory over the Badgers, sending the Elders (7 points) packing and out of the money.  It had to be bittersweet for the Elder Statesmen, who wouldn't take a chance on the alma mater, only to see them take them out of the running for this year's Chalise (sic).

The only other teams with shots at cracking the top three include the Amigos (6 points), who are riding top-seeded Virginia to the Elite Eight, who have blazed through their region and handed the Counselors a huge setback with the win over the Cyclones of 4-Iowa State.  

Amigos just riding that Virginia wave

And don't look now, but the 10-Cuse is in da house. The Commish (6 points), all but thought for dead is doing their best dracula impression and starting to make a move.  The Oregon game is a pick-em and the Orange have come this far and certainly know what the Hoos are all about, losing by eight to them on Virginia's home court in January. Amazingly, the spread....wait for it.....is eight.

Syracuse: Still dancin.....

SHAME ON YOU, NCAA COMMITTEE! YOU COULD HAVE AVOIDED THIS. THiS IS ON YOU.

THIS IS ON YOUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!

— NunesMagician.com (@NunesMagician) March 26, 2016

Final Four report after the weekend, with probables and whatnot.

Good luck!

Elite Eight Flash Report: Win-Doctors take over lead

What's Up Doc(s)?

Amherst, N.Y.  --  The Win-Doctors took over the top spot in the Calcutta with big wins by Oregon and Villanova and look poised to move forward in the Calcutta.

With 10 wins on the leaderboard and the next two spots having nothing higher than a 4-seed, it's looking pretty good at the apex of the 2016 Calcutta. It's been six years since the Win-Docs drank from the cherished chalise (sic).

The Catholic Boyz (9 points, 2nd place)  are favored in one of its two games tonight (Gonzaga is a 4-point favorite over Syracuse) and will need a win from them and/or an upset win by 5-Indiana over 1-North Carolina to stay on pace.

Will the Catholic Boyz be sent to the corner after the Elite Eight?

Sitting in third and losing their highest seed in Miami last night are the Counselors (8 points, 3rd place), who send out one point favorite 6-Notre Dame against the Elders (7 points, 4th place) last remaining team  (7-Wisconsin).  This must pose an ethical dilemma for a certain member of the Elders who is also an UND grad.  I guess it's a win-win situation.

Counselors loosening up for tonight

Surprisingly, with just 12 games remaining in this tournament, which has gone from chaotic to formful in the past 24 hours, no team has yet to be eliminated from the Calcutta.  Not even a certain southwestern saying has been warming up.

Survive and advance

The bottom four teams remain alive to run the table and catch a bottom piece of the Calcutta and hold three No. 1 seeds and a No. 2 seed.

It does look like that everyone is playing for place and show at this point.

Good luck.

Sweet Sixteen Report: Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

AMHERST, N.Y. - In a matter of 15 minutes, the Catholic Boyz went from commanding lead in the 2016 Calcutta to "What Just Happened?" mode.

Northern Iowa has a 12 point lead with 35 seconds left and loses. Xavier has the ball in a tie game with 7 seconds left and loses. Two wins turn into losses and this here Calcutta is still officially open.

Let's see it again.....

This is how you erase a 12-point deficit in 35 seconds. https://t.co/l3eJ83wDDB #MarchMadness

— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 21, 2016

They still sit on the mountain, but the lead is just one and they enter the Sweet Sixteen without its highest seed, as 2-Xavier went down when Wisco hit a big three-pointer at the buzzer in St. Louis sending the Musketeers home to Cincinnati.

Meanwhile, at Counselor Central....

The Counselors made the best of the Boyz' misfortune and land three teams into the Sweet Sixteen, with 3-Miami, 4-Iowa State and 6-Notre Dame,  The Irish, their lowest seed will actually likely be the only one favored as they will take on 7-Wisconsin in Philadelphia. The strategy looks like its paying off, but there are still big games to be played.

The Win-Doctors also remain very much in the hunt, only one back and with two power teams left in 1-Oregon and 2-Villanova. The Miami-Nova game will be a separator for the two teams chasing the Boyz for the right to wear the Yellow Jacket next year. Keep your eyes open at the top, boys....these guys have a way of sneaking up on you.

In a matter of moments, the Elders came back from the dead. 3-A&M and 7-Wisconsin were literally halfway in the coffin. They went from 5 wins to 7 wins and sniffing the board in a matter of minutes. Seth Davis actually "sharpie'd" the Northern Iowa Panthers, his first premature evacuation in history. 

Northern Iowa. Sharpie.

— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 21, 2016

It got better....

Tragic pic.twitter.com/xajnHS61VY

— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 21, 2016

So you know the Statesmen were tight-lipped, headed into their respective bathrooms and then did this....



Hanging around seeing what might happen are the Amigos, who advanced two teams to the next round in 1-Virginia and 4-Duke. They'll need to run the table with one or both to get into the money. It's not out of the question with those two teams, but the Kentucky loss to Indiana, surely smarts. We'll have to save those inevitable two words for another day....and they cruise into the Sweet Sixteen as the silent killer....

The defending champs are down to one. The Tax Guys just didn't have it this year, but still have 1-North Carolina left to carry the banner into Philadelphia's East Regional. The beautiful thing about the Calcutta is everyone can still cash in one way or another, the Tax Guys will be looking for their refund via the Heels.

Show me the mon-ay

The Commish salvaged a horrible first round to get out of the basement and actually have some hope after the Catholic Boyz trainwreck Sunday evening. Their destiny is in the hands of 2-Oklahoma and 10-Syracuse (I like the ring of that), who move on into favored situations in the Sweet Sixteen. They have one foot in the grave, but they're not dead yet.

#Cuse about to be #Sweet16 bound pic.twitter.com/pF3QUBfFxr

— Menotti Minutillo (@44) March 20, 2016

Rounding out the second round is the Bunch of Chieftans. Like the Tax Guys, they're down to a lone 1-seed, the Jayhawks, who look impressive and can play Calcutta spoiler the rest of the way. Mired in the basement with 3 wins, they will look to win four straight, collect a check and make someone's life miserable along the way....

On to the Sweet Sixteen....

Madness Lifts Catholic Boyz to Record-Tying First Round

AMHERST, NY -- It's apropos that it took a prayer from half-court to lift the Catholic Boyz back into the Record Books. The heave helped tie their 2012 feat and that of the Bunch in 2002, with seven first round wins. Only a loss by hometown UB kept them from perfection.  Ironically, if the bank wasn't open, the Win-Docs would have added their name on the right margin with their seventh win in the round. Easy come, easy go in the NCAA Tournament.

We're off to a fast start and the contenders have already started to separate themselves from the pretenders as the Boyz and the Docs vault to the top of the Calcutta leaderboard.  The Boyz won impressively with five teams that were seeded No. 8 or higher. Solid wins by 2-Xavier and 5-Indiana have the altar boys in fine fettle going into the Round of 32 (aka the Second Round).

The reaction from Freddie on the UNI
bucket was gold, Jerry, gold.

The Win-Doctors have returned to the forefront and advanced two teams in the Midwest with seeds of 12 and 15.  Are you kidding me? Add 13-Hawaii who caught some big breaks from Cal injuries and whatnot, and they are sniffing the Chalise for yet another year. With two big time seeds in 1-Oregon and 2-Villanova, they look to be the likely favorite the rest of the way. And to think that Artie wanted to take back the reigns this year....

The Win-Docs strategy paid off in healthy dividends

The Counselors made a big move on day one, but slowly advanced through the ranks and their Moneyball approach has them sitting squarely in third-place behind the two top teams and within striking range. The problem is what lies ahead for the good attorneys.  With only 3-Miami and 4-Iowa State likely to be favored in their Round of 32 contests, it could be an uphill climb for our friends from the bar. Tough losses by 6-Seton Hall and 8-Colorado kept them from piercing the first round record books.

Baki after Thursday's contest could not contain himself.
Unfortunately, Friday didn't prove as lucrative

The Elder Statesmen, with their "slow and steady wins the race" philosophy broke even on the opening round, losing a heartbreaker late last evening when a Cincinnati dunk was split-seconds too late and the difference between sitting one game back instead of three. The old guys have nothing higher than 3-Texas A&M who will have a tough outing against Cinderella 11-Northern Iowa in the next round. 5-Maryland looked good, but rough sledding after this round is in the forecast (Kansas, Villanova).

Elders - pfft. We are wild and crazy guys.

The Amigos have only their big dogs left in 1-Virginia, 4-Duke and 4-Kentucky. Good name recognition there, but the way this tourney has unfolded so far, that shouldn't matter much. Virginia did get a big break with the Sparty loss, a couple Virginia alums actually made some donations to Middle Tennessee State's annual fund after Friday afternoon's shocker.  The annual battle cry is not ready to be broken out yet....but when it is ready....the Chief Amigo says...

The Chief Amigo 

The defending champs had nothing to cheer about in the opening round and like the Amigos have a top seed remaining in 1-North Carolina, but tough losses by 4-Cal and 7-Dayton sent this team to the bottom half of the Calcutta. The Tax Men are still within spitting distance with a run by UNC and a decent 3-Utah could keep them relevant through Sunday.

It's just a flesh wound.

The Commish's Morning Line jinx appears to have held up, as the Bunch of Chieftans came away from Round 1 with two measly wins. They may have the chalk of the tourney in 1-Kansas, but with 10-VCU on the same side of the bracket, I'm calling this one early on election evening with only 10% of the precincts reporting. Sorry that I have to break this one out so early...but you know this is open game at Calcutta central....

There was no General Custer in Round 1

That brings us to the Commish & Associate and the futility continues for your fearless (and horribly picking) leader. Sparty done effed up. Kelly and I are just going to take the wives for dinner next year instead of making the annual donation. The lone bright spot is Orange.  That's right the $4 purchase faces a 15 seed and could be headed to the Sweet Sixteen. Only shot here is 2-Oklahoma running the table and picking up the National Championship check.

Enjoy the Round of 32.  Report Sunday night or Monday morning.

2016 Calcutta Kicks Off with Bunch as Morning Line Favorite

JP accepts (and it fits) the Yellow Jacket from
2014 champ SRB (Bunch)

AMHERST, N.Y. -- It’s hard to believe we’ve been at this since 1999, but the 18th annual Calcutta got off to a great start with the annual donning of the Yellow Jacket by the 2015 winner the Tax Men, presented by the 2014 winner (Bunch).  A toast to our lost Amigo and dedication of the 2016 edition of the William A. Karin Memorial Calcutta got us off on the right foot and away we went.

RIP Amigo (circa 2013)

When a team has won or shared a piece of a third of the total Calcuttas since inception, it’s not too difficult to make them the morning line favorite.  The Bunch of Chieftans (3-1) had a solid draft, coming right out of the gate and grabbing top seeded 1-Kansas. With an Average Seed Rating (ASR) of 7.3, it seems to be right in the Chief’s wheelhouse. 3-West Virginia is a dangerous team and if the Chieftans can squeak a win or two our of mid-seeds Oregon State, Texas Tech or 10-seeds VCU or Pitt, it could be clear sailing into the Final Four.  Sleeper pick: 10-VCU.

The Bunch of Chieftans studied hard for this Calcutta.

The Counselors (7-2) went into “Moneyball” mode early and grabbed possibly the lowest ASR of all time with a 6.6. Taking a page out of the Elders ledger, they sat patiently and gathered five teams with seeds between 3-6, and their highest seed is 12-Yale, who is basically playing a home game in Providence. Billy Beane was in the house and will need wins through the Sweet Sixteen to survive.  On the flip-side, their lowest seed is 3-Miami, who was the third best team in the ACC and will have to get through Villanova and Kansas in the East. Only one team disagreement (“I don’t endorse this selection”) bodes well for the legal beagles.  Sleeper Pick: 9-Providence.

The Counselors all night long

The defending champs, the Tax Men (4-1) are certainly part of the equation, coming right in on a perfect 8.0 on the ASR scale. They’ll ride the coattails of top-seeded 1-North Carolina and will need 3-Utah and 4-California to make some noise in order to advance deep into the Calcutta. Both 7-seeds (Dayton and Iowa) come into the tourney struggling, but can easily turn things around to where they dominated earlier in the year. Sleeper Pick – 7-Iowa.

Where is that Chiampa fellah?

The Elder Statesmen (5-1) uncharacteristically went deep in a few bids tonight and it showed in their ASR rating of 7.9, which is high for this squad.  They’ll need some upsets to make noise, but 3-Texas A&M, 5-Maryland and 5-Purdue are all playing good basketball.  The 4-5’s will be likely be facing a top seed in the sweet sixteen which could put the Elders behind the eight-ball if they don’t get rolling during the opening weekend.  The two 8-9 games they are involved with in the first round loom large. Sleeper Pick – 9-UConn.

We hosed those young bucks, again Fanch!

Bid big, bid early was the motto for the Amigos (7-1) have three solid teams that could advance deep into the tourney. With a god-awful ASR of 10.1, they’ll need 1-Virginia, 4-Kentucky and 4-Duke to keep on keeping on in order to sniff a check in this year’s Calcutta.  An upset win by Temple could be the difference if this squad’s top three come through.  Sleeper Pick – 10-Temple.

Come at me, bro.

They didn’t get Villanova, but the Catholic Boyz (8-1) upheld tradition and team name by taking 9-St. Joe’s, 11-Gonzaga and 2-Xavier.  They’ll need some upsets and a strong performance from the Musketeers to be a contender after the opening weekend. Two big 8-9 games will determine how competitive this team will be.  Looking to end a 10-year slide since their last title in 2006, the Boyz’ top seeds are in the same East Region, which could be costly down the road.  Sleeper Pick – 9-St. Joe’s.

We got 3 Catholic teams!!!

If history is any indicator, 1-Oregon or 2-Villanova will be your 2016 NCAA champs. The Win Docs (10-1) have nailed five of the last eight champions in the Calcutta and six overall. With five of their teams with seeds of 12 or higher, they need 6-Texas to get past in-state rival A&M, and their big two to not stumble to be around in April.  Sleeper Pick – 12- Arkansas Little Rock.

You're telling me I got a shot?

Trailing the field is the Commish (15-1), the lone squad who has never drank from the Chalise (sic) in the 18-year history.  The Commish definitely went with the “go big or go home” mantra spending big cash on 2-seeds Michigan State and Oklahoma. A couple stolen first-round wins by Syracuse and USC and maybe, just maybe, the long shot will pay off. Doubtful, though.  Sleeper Pick – 13-UNC-Wilmington.

Update after the first round. Results can be found in the upper right hand margin of the blog.

Good luck to all.