Three teams sit atop Calcutta after Round One

AMHERST – The 2025 Calcutta has a logjam at the top with each team having at least three wins. The Win-Docs, Catholic Boyz and Bunch of Chieftans sit atop the leaderboard with five first-round wins heading into the Round of 32.

After a disastrous 0-fer on day one for the Amigos, they bounced back to garner three straight wins on Friday to avert flirting with the wrong side of the record books (which they hold the coveted 1 first round win in 2018 – a year they’d rather forget).

Three teams are hunkered down in second with four wins and within striking distance and three sit on the bottom, but only two off the leaders.

Parity has struck the 2025 Calcutta; Roger Goodell would be proud of the job I’m doing.

Win-Docs big first day vaults them to top for cut of the lead

The Good Doctors pawned off two big wins by 11-Drake and 12-McNeese, those low seed victories so key to winning the Calcutta, to jump up the leaderboard on Thursday. Solid wins by 3-Wisconsin and 4-Zona have the Win-Docs having a good shot to enter the Sweet Sixteen with eight wins which is a good number to be at heading into next weekend. Yes, their last shared title was in 2018 but seeking their first outright Chalise (sic) since 2016.

Catholic Boyz in the hunt

The Altar Boyz have been quiet since 2018 as well, without hitting the board in the last five Calcuttas. Is this the year for divine intervention? Some solid mid-seed drafting on Tuesday puts them in the hunt on the CBS scoreboard. Will need some help as the waters get deeper for three of their seeds this weekend, but they could also be sitting on eight with an upset win or two.

Bunch of Chieftans circling the wagons

Whose been steadier than the Chieftans over the years and they are right back in the thick of things battling their old nemesis the Win-Docs for the top spot. 1-Florida looks monstrous and could easily run the table giving them nine wins, but will need steady wins from 2-Alabama and another upset or two.  Could be the team to beat.

Counselors in battle to stay alive

With only one outright title in 25 years and nothing since 2012, the solicitors started strong on Thursday, but only mustered a win out of 4-Maryland on Friday to sit one back of the triumvirate above. 2-St. John’s rolled, but a looming matchup with Florida next weekend could spell the demise of the procurators. In second, but in a tedious position.

The Elders

A funny stat that I never realized (and you’ll see in the epilogue of today’s column) is that the Elders have never drafted the national champion. I guess it makes sense based on their vaunted mid-seed draft strategy. While the defending champs sit in second, they usually are sitting on five or six wins at this point, so there is cause for concern for the elderly. They need a sweep to get to eight (my magic number, not yours) and then they’ll be playing Cinderella. Better sharpen up that walker.

Commish in survive and advance mode

The Commish’s title hopes is riding on seeing 5-Oregon win over 4-Zona in Seattle. Hoping the short travel from the nearby state and some home cooking (Pacific Northwest sticks together baby) will push three teams into the Sweet Sixteen.  Of course, that assumes 1-Auburn and 2-Tennessee hold serve today.

The Slayers make good use of morning line favorite jinx

Put the kiss of death on the Slayers (artist formerly known as the Wagon-eers) with the morning line favoritism. But whose been better – drafting last three natty champs and two of last three titles, so could you blame the Greek for tabbing them as the chalk? Should put through all three remaining teams to the next round which means they’ll remain in the hunt.

Fat Lady stuffed on Friday

The Amigos were close to reliving the pain of 2018, but rebounded solidly on Friday with 1-Duke, 6-Ole Miss and 8-UConn advancing. Duke will keep them squarely in the Mix, but the other two teams will be underdogs on a big Sunday for the Chicanos.

Title data revealed

After withstanding the whining about multiple titles and naming rights, the Commish put together a historical view of title runs by each of the eight franchises since 1999. Very interesting to see both the consistency and the mediocrity of the franchises over the last 25 years.

The results will be posted over the next few days in the google sheet link in the top right corner as usual. Sweet Sixteen post - Monday morning. 

Good luck everyone!

 

Elders enter record books with seven first round wins

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SYRACUSE -- The Elders nearly completed the first sweep of the opening round with a 7-win start to the 2024 Calcutta. They are the fifth franchise to complete the lucky 7 joining the Bunch 7 [2002], Catholic Boyz [2012, 2016], Win-Docs [2018], Tax Slayers [2019, 2021].

The Elders came into the tourney wielding nothing less than a 11-seed based on their time-tested draft strategy and it looks like this year it should pay off. The squad will have three favored squads over the weekend and a seasoned 5-San Diego St. that draws upset-minded 13-Yale. This squad could have double-digit wins heading to the weekend. Step aside and let the gents with the walkers through.

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The Counselors were looking sweet on Thursday night with the big 14-Oakland upset over UK, but they suffered one of their own when highly-regarded 4-Auburn spit the bit and choked on some Ivy. The barristers still managed to post 5 wins to stay in contention and still have big dog 1-UNC to carry the torch for the law guys. Some dubious matchups in round number two will determine the fate of the legal beagles.

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White smoke was seen coming out of the above on Friday morning, when the Chieftans rallied big time to gain a share of second-place with the Counselors heading into the weekend. Perfect on the right side of the bracket buoyed by the frenetic play of the 12-Dukes of Madison (PS, he was the fifth President, you know). A couple double-digit upset wins on Friday put the natives squarely in the hunt. Will need some second round damage from the middle seeds in the Midwest (5-Gonzaga and 7-Texas) to stick around to the Sweet Sixteen.  Good work to date by the Chiefs.

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It was a tale of two days for the Amigos. After garnering headlines in Thursday's Commish's Flash Notes with a solid 4-2 start, they came back to the back with a winless Friday. Chalked up a couple 11-seed wins on Thursday from A-10 Duquesne and the ACC's Wolfpack, the Dos Amigos will need to avoid the Dos Equis (XX) on Saturday to have a shot. With one of the few SEC teams standing, lots of eggs in the Volunteer basket. Not warming up the saying just yet.

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It was a case of the morning line jinx for the Win-Docs. Their South region in shambles from two upsets of 3-Kentucky and 5-Wisconsin both who looked like they've never seen a basketball today. Elimination is not out of the question after today with them facing a 1 and a 2 and 4-Kansas will have to survive 5-Gonzaga. Would be the quickest exit of a morning line favorite in history. The Win-Docs are in the ER and in search of help.

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For the Commish, it's all about survive and advance. First time dissension in the ranks for not going picking NC State. Opted for 7-Florida instead and we see where that got us. There's still hope to catch a piece riding the 1-Boilermakers and 3-Illini through to the Sweet Sixteen. If they can catch Houston on an off day with the 9-Aggies, well you know.....

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The Catholic Boyz are down to the Big East heavies and nothing left to do but pray for a miracle. Only upset suffered was 6-BYU getting torched by Duquesne. Problem is they are on the same side of the bracket - max wins left is 8 which gets them to double digits, but the Elders could be there today.

On to the second round!

Wild First Round in wide open Calcutta

 

Four teams share early lead

AMHERST – In a wild and wooly first round that saw a 16-seed upset 1-Purdue and 2-Arizona and 4-Virginia making early tee times, the 2023 Calcutta got off to a rousing start. 

Four teams (Win-Docs, Catholic Boyz, Counselors and Chieftans) are tied atop the leaderboard with three other squads within a point or two.  It has the makings of possibly the most competitive Calcutta in years.

The Win-Docs were rolling early with hopes of setting Calcutta history with a first round sweep. Going 4-0 on Thursday, the Docs were surgically moving through its early opponents with precision. St. Patty’s Day rolled around however, and the Docs went 1-3, but didn’t slip down the leaderboard.  5-Duke’s region is suddenly wide open and a big matchup with 5-Tenessee (Elders) on Saturday could vault them and the Docs into the Sweet Sixteen with a good chance to have three horses still in the race.

The Catholic Boyz also had a big Thursday holding serve with their top seeds and taking advantage of an upset by 15-Princeton over 2-Arizona (Slayers). The Boyz are back in town was heard playing in the Calcutta once again and today could decide whether they can start distancing themselves from the rest of the pack with four teams in action. A big matchup between 2-Marquette taking on 7-Michigan State (Counselors) looms on Sunday for two of the top teams to date.

 

The Counselors have started to rebound from last year’s debacle and after being shut out on Thursday, banged the gavel on Friday with five wins, none that were really in doubt.  They’ll be taking a recess today, but will come back strong on Sunday with strong arguments to be at the peak of the Calcutta by Sunday night. In addition to the big showdown with the Boyz, the 3-Gonzaga-TCU tilt with the Chieftans is another huge game amongst the leaders on Sunday.

 

Speaking of the Chieftans, they also had a big day, devouring their Friday opponents to tally four wins on the day and gain a slice of the lead. Surviving a 14-Kennesaw State (Commish) upset scare early in the afternoon, their top seeds mostly rolled. The 13-Furman buzzer beater was the difference for the Bunch, but they’ll play the underdog role in four of their five games slated for the Round of 32.  They’ll at least get an accidental win as they face off against themselves in the KSU-Kentucky fixture (that’s soccer talk).

 

Immediately behind the top four squads sits the Elders alone in fifth place one win behind and smarting from the 4-Virginia buzzer beater loss to the Chieftans (Furman). The old guys caned four opponents, but face an uphill battled as Tennessee heads up against a hot Duke squad and will face a 1 and 2 seed in two other contests. But don’t think the sextugenarian duo has started to shake their fists at the sky just yet.

 

Oh, Amigos….losing a top seed when all your eggs were in that basket. But, hey they had 16-FDU so all was not completely lost (close, though).  The Knights actually outplayed the Boilers all night and only need to beat a 9-seed to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.  They sit in sixth place tied with the Slayers with three wins. However, if Alabama rolls…… But if ifs and buts were candy and nuts we’d all have a merry Calcutta.   

 

The defending co-champs have some work to do. They face two difficult 4-5 games over the weekend and the Commish’s morning line “kiss of death” was being whispered around the office all morning on Thursday.  It’s unlikely the engraver will be putting the Slayers on the Chalise this year.

 

Sitting in his mom’s basement is the Commish. An agonizing Friday complete with a computer slam after the 9-FAU buzzer beater (Slayers getting revenge) and Kennesaw giving up a 13-point lead in the final 10 minutes puts the potential three-peat in serious jeopardy. Can only max out with 10 wins if Kansas or Texas run the table, so rooting for a whole lot of whupping up against each other up above.

 Enjoy the Round of 32 Calcuttians.

 

 

 

 

Slayers out to fast start, tie opening round record for wins

Amherst, N.Y. – The post time favorite did not disappoint, tying a first round record with seven (7) wins in the first round, becoming the fifth squad to tie that mark. The Tax Slayers came out slicing and dicing as expected and rode a late night upset victory by 12-Liberty to keep the Commish (4 wins) at bay.

The first round was rather formful as the second choice, the Catholic Boyz did their usual early round damage on the way to four victories and a four-way tie for second.

Three teams lay in wait with 3 wins, which means everyone is still alive with championship hopes heading into the opening weekend.

Here’s a capsule look at each squad as we head into the weekend and the Second Round of action which will likely separate the men from the boyz.

Tax Slayers (7 points) – It was an awesome onslaught of terror that the slayers unleashed on the rest of the Calcutta. They were one 15-Montana upset away from becoming the first team to ever sweep the first round. With all three 9-seeds holding serve, and 1-North Carolina in the house, this Calcutta may be over before we hit the Sweet Sixteen. Then again, the three 9-seeds face top seeds on the weekend so we will see. Regardless, a job well done.

Slayers making the Commish look like Jimmy the Greek

Commish & Assoc. (4 points) – The Commish was looking at a 5-point first round boosted by upset wins (calculated, I might add) by 12-Murray State and 13-UC-Irvine. The top two seeds held serve, but a damaging 5-Mississippi State loss took the wind out of the Calcutta’s fearless leader’s sails. Lots of eggs in the 2-Michigan State and 3-Houston baskets. Can the Cinderellas keep dancing at the ball? We’ll see. Survive and advance.

It's the name of the game, y'all.

Catholic Boyz (4 points) – Solid first round performance by the Boyz, but the waters get deeper here on out, which is what we forecasted on draft night. Will need a couple 6-seeds to step up, and both are very capable of keeping the Boyz in the thick of things. When all is said and done, Freddie will by looking squarely at costly losses by 4-Kansas State and 5-Marquette.

The Boyz looking for some divine help this weekend

Win-Doctors (4 points) – After a nice 3-win Thursday, they were stuck on three until after midnight when 4-Virginia Tech finally notched win No. 4. A damaging late Friday night loss by 6-Iowa State kept them out of the second slot all by themselves. As usual though, they are in the thick of things, and balanced with 1-Gonzaga and 2-Kentucky in opposite brackets unlike the Slayers with their 1-2 on the same side.

The Win-Docs have patience and big dogs on their side

Counselors (4 points) – With nothing higher than a 4-seed left, it looks like they’re up against it. But 4-Fla State looks strong and if 4-Kansas survives, they head to Kansas City and home court advantage. They sit right about where you would expect them to be. The weekend is going to be big for them, especially if they can sneak 10-Florida through.

I wanna re-draft

Elder Statesman (3 points) – A disappointing couple of days for the old guys. The Wisco loss stings. With two 3-seeds and a 6-seed remaining, the fat lady could be warming up and they go into Sunday rooting against hometown 6-UB in Tulsa. That's bad karma, man. 

Ruh roh, rastro.

Amigos (3 points) – The Amigos escaped Friday with a 10-Iowa upset win to keep them out of the basement by their lonesome. They will need the big dogs (1-Virginia and 2-Michigan) to go deep to have a shot at their first title in six years.

Amigos, be like...

Bunch of Chieftains (3 points) – Upset wins by 11-Ohio State and 12-Oregon were big as a run of the table by Duke gets them to 9, which usually can get you close to the money. Another win by one of the underdogs would be huge.

Chief Motto at Bunch HQ

Sweet Sixteen report will be up after Sunday's games.

Calcutta: The Doctor is IN

 Albany, N.Y. -- The Win-Docs looked to achieve the unthinkable and had their sights on an unprecedented sweep of the first round. With major upset wins by 16-UMBC and 13-University at BUFFALO, only 13-College of Charleston kept them from a record that would likely stand for eternity.

The Docs joined the Bunch (2002) and Catholic Boyz (2012, 2016) in the record books with seven first round victories. They will have their sights set on the next round record of five wins (see sidebar) and possibly a first weekend record of 11 or 12 (currently consulting the Elias Sports Bureau).

Win-Docs strolling into the Round of 32 like...

The major coaching change in the offseason looks like it was a brilliant move by Doc management, with the Smytty-led squad riding their 3-seeds and upsets into a near record-breaking performance.

The Docs saw the Amigos to the Help Desk

Let's take a capsule look at where the other seven squads stand heading into the weekend....

Catholic Boyz. In typical first-round fashion, the Boyz sit in a three-way tie behind the Docs with five wins over the first two days. 1-Villanova in a soft bracket should add some easy wins through to the regional final in Boston to anchor the Boyz championship run. The road does get a little rockier now with mid-level seeds having to win in the Round of 32. But this is the path the Boyz take every year.

The Boyz scoot through to the Round of 32

Bunch of Chieftans. Do you think the Bunch wants the Docs sharing anything with them. The record holding Bunch (six Calcutta titles) still has some dry powder in the keg with 2-Duke and 3-Tennessee on opposite esides of the bracket and Huggy Bear's Mountaineers looking good. Whilst sad to see the Brown Indians bow out in the main draw, it was good for local hoops and the Bunch are still dancing.

PSA from the Bunch to the Docs

Elder Statesmen. The lack of pee breaks on Calcutta Wednesday didn't thwart the drafting skills of one John Fancher. The Statesmen shunning the 8-1 tag placed on it by the Commish (see Rodney Dangerfield) waltzed into the weekend listed officially in the "in the hunt" section of the Calcutta. With 2-North Carolina appearing to be the real deal, the waters get deeper over the weekend and some of the Elders mid level seeds will need to win.

How do you like me now?

Commish & Assoc. 2-seeds alive. Big upset win by 13. All going according to Hoyle. Big 4-5 game with the Elders on Sunday may determine the direction of both squads.

Current Commish battle cry

Tax Slayers. The Monty Python "bring out your dead" gif was all teed up ("I'm not dead yet"), but some late night Friday heroics by 9-Florida State and 11-Syracuse (!) kept the Slayers off life support. Maybe too focused on the TJCA than the RPI on draft night...this team has some major work to do. 1-Kansas is the meal ticket, but they need some rocket fuel and quickly.

Slayers need some rocket fuel.

Counselors.  And then there were two. With the annual kiss of death tag (morning line favorite) squarely placed on them in a tradition unlike any other, the Counselors are down to 3-Michigan and 5-Kentucky and a max of 10 wins. The 538 guys have them at 1.5% chance of Calcutta glory. They'll need to file a few more motions and need the Slayers and Amigos to do some damage to the upper echelon to make anything happen. It's not looking good.

Counselors: We don't want to hear it.

Amigos. It's teed up, boys. You know it's coming. Oh, by the way the futility record is in sight, just sayin. You don't get a picture.

Good luck in the Round of 32!

Win-Docs poised for history?

Thursday was the Win-Docs big day

Amherst, N.Y. - Quick first round post, because you know you can't sweep the card without winning the first four. The Win-Docs swept their dance card last night to go 4-0. Can they be the first Calcutta team to sweep the first round?  Unlikely with 16=UMBC having to pull a mammoth upset, but you gotta be in it to win it (see University at BUFFALO).

The record first round wins is seven set by the Bunch (2002) and equaled by the Catholic Boyz in 2012 and 2016.

The Catholic Boyz and Bunch of Chieftans are right there after 4-2 on the opening day. The standings are updated in the upper right hand corner. How prophetic was the Commish about the Boyz historical opening round success and the Chieftans sleeper (Loyola) and steal (Houston).

Good luck on Friday!

Counselors sprint out to early Calcutta lead

The Counselors having the traditional first round Red Auerbach stogie

Amherst, N.Y. -- The Counselors waltzed through the first round capturing six big wins to sit atop the leaderboard heading into the tournament's first weekend. As expected, with the low Average Seed Rating, the morning line favorites jumped right out on Thursday, running the table in all four games.

Led by 3-seeds Florida State and Baylor, 4-seeds West Virginia and Butler, the barristers held serve with all six of their higher seeded squads. Helping themselves to some home cooking, by winning two games in the Buffalo region (WVU and Wisconsin), the Counselors sit pretty with hopes of hitting double digits after the first two rounds.

Freddie's Gang

The Catholic Boyz put together a 3-win streak and are right in the thick of things once again after a crafty draft. Riding upsets by 11-Southern Cal and 10-Xavier, the Boyz of the cloth are once again a threat to win the Calcutta for the first time since 2009. With big dog 1-North Carolina taking care of business, the Catholic Boyz on St. Patrick's weekend is the hunch play in Vegas.

The Elders laughed all the way up the leaderboard

After openly questioning the morning line, the Elders shrugged off the odds snub and reeled off five wins over the first round to tie the Catholics one game back of the Counselors. 2-Louisville led the charge for the Elders and after a couple scary moments in the 5-Notre Dame game, the old guys sit right in the thick of things once again.

It was a streaky two days for the Amigos

The Amigos started on a 4-0 tear heading into the Seton Hall-Arkansas game, and after some unfortunate Pirate turnovers, the skid started. After the Hall went down, SMU and Marquette gagged both of their games and Northern Kentucky was overmatched against 2-Kentucky. They're not out of it by any stretch of the imagination with mighty 2-Arizona and red-hot 7-Michigan playing solid ball, but what could have been a 7-1 start, turned into a .500 record.

Well, well, look who's hanging around

For the first time in years, the Commish can sniff the leaders and sends four teams into the first weekend, including two big seeds. Two late night Friday wins over the Amigos (Kentucky, South Carolina) thrust him right into the hunt. How will the perennial bottom-dweller deal with the pressure of being in a Calcutta race? A big 12-Middle Tennessee State win over Minnesota set the stage for potential bigger things to come. Is this the year?

Breathe, Chief, Breathe

The Bunch are still hanging in there with their two kingpins 1-Villanova and 1-Kansas. An upset win by 11-Rhode Island helped the cause, but they will have no time to catch their breath, as a run of the table will be required to keep up with the deep teams on the top of the leaderboard.

UCLA held off a game Kent State for the Slayers

The Tax Slayers toughed it out through the first two days with three wins coming from 3-UCLA, 3-Oregon and 4-Purdue. The road will start getting rougher for the Slayers, but if they send three teams into the Sweet Sixteen, you can't count them out.

She's warming up for the Win-Docs

It was an abysmal performance by the Win-Docs over the first two days of the tourney. Nothing went right for the defending champs and it looks like a Duke run will be the only thing keeping the fat lady quiet. St. Mary's as your wing man, just isn't going to get 'er done. Thanks for coming.

Next report on Sunday night/Monday morning. Enjoy the games over the weekend.

Tax Men, Elders race to lead heading into Round of 32

Don't worry about me, nothing to see here.

AMHERST, NY (AP) -- The Tax Men stormed into the Round of 32 validating their favorites role by chalking up four wins on day two of the opening round. With Louisville and Maryland both holding off upset bids by lower-seeded squads, the Tax Guys roared into the next round with six teams still standing. Anchored by top-seeded Wisconsin in the West, this team came with its pencil sharpened.

As George W. would say, when you imply your strategery, good things can happen. The Elder Statesmen stuck to the program and their bidding ways of old to rack up early wins and with some 8-9 magic in NC State and San Diego State, they tied the Tax Guys. Problem is they only have one higher seeded team going into the weekend and will face two No. 1 seeds, two No. 2 seeds and a No. 3 seed (Notre Dame, haha) to survive with any gunpowder.  Fanch's teammate, however, was celebrating the late night San Diego St. win....

Looming large in third place and stalking the leaders is the ever-present Counselors. They quietly churned five victories in the opening round boosted by upset winners Dayton and UAB. Their anchor teams, Arizona and Gonzaga made quick work of their opponents and this team should be hanging around to catch at a minimum a piece of the trifecta. The Counselors were all about being in unison at the draft and you can see by their late night celebration, they have come to play....

 Sitting in fourth are the mighty Win-Docs, the mighty, mighty Win-Docs with your ho-hum four wins over the first round. All the marbles are on Coach K, and moving into the Round of 32 with four teams is big, but will need an upset win out of lower seeds over the weekend to even sniff the top spot.



Tied for sixth are the 2013 champion Amigos and yours truly, who's tournament ended on Thursday for the 17th straight year when Iowa State suddenly forgot how to shoot. The Commish will need Northern Iowa and the Ohio State University to dot their I's in order to crack the money. For the Amigos who stormed out on Thursday like a lion, they went out like a lamb on Friday, losing every contest. Some backroom smack-talk was being had behind the scenes and one team who will not be named (let's call him Voldemort) posted this picture next to the water cooler on Thursday morning...

 Rounding out the basement (check the morning line odds) is the Catholic Boyz who have two teams, albeit a #1 and a #2 remaining. They max out at 11 wins if we get a Arizona-Nova final. Not saying their done, but....

 

 Enjoy the round of 32.