AMHERST – 2025 marks the 26th documented year of
the annual Calcutta and this year’s edition of the William A. Karin Memorial Calcutta surely didn’t disappoint.
The Counselors brought back the old time feuding
they used to be so well known for.
The Amigos made sure they spent early on a one
seed.
The Commish had no money left by 6 p.m.
The Elders forgot to show up for the yellow
jacket celebration due to early onset Alzheimers.
So here we are with a solid start to 2025 in a
wide-open tourney with any of 10 teams who could be in the spotlight during the
playing of the One ShiningMoment .
One record to keep an eye out for is the
Slayers have drafted the last three national champions which tied them with the
early Chuck Wagon days (1999-2001) and the Win-Docs run in the late aughts
(2008-2010).
Slayers emerge as heavy Morning
Line Favorites at 2-1
The Slayers played the waiting game all night
long, stuck on 57 for a good 45 minutes. Came away with the Aldi steal of the
tournament with Marquette-7 for $2. They’ve hooked their steed to the Midwest
Region however with Kentucky-3 and Purdue-4, but have mid-level seeds
throughout the left hand side of the bracket, and could potentially threaten
the first ever sweep of the first round. The only team not favored in Round 1
is Vanderbilt-10. These guys could lock it up by the weekend.
Morning Line Odds: 2-1; Longshot: N/A (they
have none); ASR:6.0
Chieftans crafty draft
strategy puts them in fold
Some craftiness shown by the tribe, as they finagled some late round chicanery that got them a 10-seed (New Mexico) for a $1. Well balanced in the brackets with Florida-1 on one side and Alabama-2 on the other makes them dangerous to stack up points. Will need some wins out of Illinois-6 and an upset of two from the bottom five teams to make a run. Hail to the Chiefs (missed the annual visit by the real Chief)
Morning Line Odds: 4-1; Longshot: 12-Liberty;
ASR: 8.9
Amigos
I rarely give the Amigos their due, but Duke-1
is playing close to the best basketball in the nation and could run the table
on the right side of the bracket. Solid middle seeds can pile up some early
wins to assist a big Duke number with Ole Miss-6 and Kansas-7 both programs
that can due some damage. Back up the sombrero the Amigos could be dancing late
into the tourney.
Morning Line Odds: 6-1; Longshot: 10-Utah
State; ASR: 7.9
Elders strategy unchanged
in 26 years; big shot to hit the board
I haven’t had to change this headline in 26
years. You’d have to do some long, hard research
to find the last No. 1 seed this team drafted…they go mid-seed and low ASR and
try to cash a ticket. Monday was no different as the Elders wrapped up the
second lowest ASR, yielding that spot to the Slayers. Fanch played remotely
(WFH) which wasn’t the easiest without a view of the big board. Rookie mistake
could end up being costly. Iowa State-3 is their lowest seed and their next
lowest is in the same bracket (A&M in the South). A run from Clemson-5 to
the Sweet Sixteen would make this team very interesting.
Morning Line Odds: 8-1; Longshot: 7-Saint Mary’s
(to go deep); ASR: 8.5
The Win-Docs drought
should continue
The Win-Docs were up to their old antics with
some late bidding and chirping it up throughout the evening. The fact is the
drought is up to nine years and only the Counselors (2012) have been trophyless
longer. The left side of their bracket is a total disaster with Drake-11 their
lowest seeded team. They’ll need to poach a bunch of wins to have a shot and
hope Houston-1 doesn’t have a problem getting out of the Midwest and either
Arizona-4 or Wisconsin-3 gets to the Elite Eight. They just weren’t on their
game.
Morning Line Odds; 10-1; Longshot: 11-Drake;
ASR: 9.3
The Bickering Barristers dubious
drafting
The legal beagles were at each other at key
moments of the night, shades of ole Johnny C giving Baki the biz. Hoping Pitino
can find that old magic with St. John’s-2 and that Maryland-4 can get through
and knock off Auburn. They’ll need some upsets and BYU-6 (18$!!) and Gonzaga-10
to win a couple games to keep them in contention. Leaning towards a hung jury.
Morning Line Odds: 12-1; Longshot: 12-UC-San Diego;
ASR: 8.6
Catholic Boyz need Big
East dominance
The Catholic Boyz were active all night, but
just seemed to get edged out of a lot of teams. Michigan St.-2 has the fire
power to make a sustained run and Texas Tech-3 was a big purchase for an unproven
five. UCLA-7 was competitive all year and has solid coaching, but that’s the
best they have on the right side of the bracket. Confession is Sunday night at
11.
Morning Line Odds: 15-1; Longshot: 12-Colorado
St; ASR: 8.9
Commish all in with two
squads
The Commish has hit the board in three of the
last four Calcuttas after two seconds and one third in the first 17 years of
action. We’ll play longshot as one upset of Auburn-1 or Tennessee-2 blows up
their Calcutta. A whopping 10.0 ASR, buoyed by three 15-seeds has the Commish
down to three teams by the weekend if all holds. Oregon-5 is their wild card in
the East and if they can pull together two-three wins in a different ball game.
Morning Line Odds; 20-1; Longshot: 13-Grand Canyon;
ASR: 10.0
The results will be posted over the next few
days in the google sheet link in the top right corner as usual. Next post -
Saturday morning leading into round 2.
We'll be a little light on the GIFs this year until we get to the later rounds...so you'll just have to enjoy my eloquence.
Good luck everyone!
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