Elite Eight Report: Chieftans on the warpath

Bunch makes its move on Counselors; Win-Docs looming

That hissing sound you hear is the air coming out of the Counselors' tires.

The 2014 Calcutta is down to a four-team race with The Bunch of Chieftans capturing three big wins in the Sweet Sixteen with the chance to advance all of them into the Final Four. The New Guy's beginner's luck looks to be more in the way of astute handicapping as the Chieftans vaulted into a first place tie with the sagging Counselors.

Let's take a look at each of the remaining Calcutta squads and what the Elite Eight has unfolding for them....

The Bunch of Chieftans. The Bunch just Shabazz'd all over this Calcutta as he carried 7-UConn in an upset victory of 3-Iowa State, which sent the Elders packing.

Not only did they get the upset win at the Garden, but a 8-Kentucky Wildcat team that trailed for over 38 straight minutes took over in the last minute and a half to defeat in-state rival Louisville giving the Bunch two mid-level seeds in the regional finals. Nice work.  Not to mention top-seeded 1-Florida took care of business on Thursday night setting them up with a matchup with 11-THE University of Dayton this afternoon.

Counselors: How we felt before the Sweet Sixteen.

Counselors: We're still scary cuz we
have big pointy ears like this!

Counselors. The Barristers arrived on the Sweet Sixteen scene with four teams, the most of any other squad, but went a measly 1-3 and are limping into the Elite Eight. However, the team they limp in with the 2-Wisconsin Badgers still look scary and will face their biggest test in 1-Arizona this afternoon. The wind went out of the sails for 4-UCLA, 11-Tennessee and most importantly ACC champion 1-Virginia, costing the Counselors an easy waltz to the crown. Big games remain, but this train looks close to derailment.

Dayton Flyers, Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap-Clap

The Win-Doctors. They just won't go away. Will Cinderella's run end at midnight? They are about to run into the big, bad 1-Florida Gators and a huge (let me repeat, HUGE) matchup with the Bunch. Not only do they trail the front-runners by 2 points, but they get a Sunday matchup with 4-Sparty taking on the Chieftains' Huskies. Whoa. If Louisville had held on this thing would be even tighter as they would be tied at 9 with the two big Elite Eight matchups deciding who moves on. Buckle your seat belts, this could get interesting and let the trash talking begin. Let's just say (for the New Guy's sake) that these two teams just don't like each other.

Don't sleep on the Amigos.

Dos Amigos. Quietly looming in fourth, the Amigos sit with 7 points, three out of the lead, but with two teams left. Unfortunately they are on the same side of the bracket so the best they can muster is an additional 4 wins bringing them to 11, but crazier things have happened. They may have napped a little too much in the early rounds, but the possibility of heading to the bank is still alive. They do somewhat control their destiny as they can take down a few teams on the top of the leaderboard over the weekend. Both 1-Arizona and 2-Michigan are playing inspired ball. Don't ignore the Amigos.

Dear Elders, Commishioners and Catholic Boyz. 

It'll be ok....and.....

Thanks for coming!

To the remaining teams...good luck on the weekend.

Calcutta heads to Sweet Sixteen

We head to the Sweet Sixteen and it's still fairly wide open. As predicted, the Bunch of Chieftans have made their middle move and eyeing the leader in the clubhouse after the first two rounds, the Three Amigos. Buoyed by #1 seeds Kansas and Indiana, the Bunch rides into the 16 with two other upset winners in the under seeded Oregon Ducks and the exciting FGCU Golden Eagles. The Bunch is poised to strike and the South Region bracket pits them against the Amigos in both match ups on Friday night.  (Kansas-Michigan & FGCU-Florida)

The Amigos, set as 15-1 underdogs in the morning line are on top of the Calcutta thus far, and had this message to send to yours truly regarding the morning line:

True, I'm f'd in this Calcutta alright, and I'm blaming the refs in the Iowa State-OSU game, too!

Ok, so we know the Bunch and Amigos will be slugging it out in the South Region in Dallas Friday night, but who else is lurking around the top hoping they beat the brains out of each other?

The Elders are hanging around the water cooler and could sneak a team to the final four with wins by LaSalle and Ohio State on Thursday night in Los Angeles. That would give them 10 wins and likely a dangerous Ohio State team in the final four. Make sure you adjust your hearing aids boys, some sweet sixteen music could be playing your tune.

The Tax Men will hope to head into April with three solid shots to advance a team (or possibly two) to the final four. All three could advance in their sweet sixteen games, but the Elite Eight may get a tad sticky for the tax guys. Regardless, they've made a strong statement so far in the Calcutta and have a decent shot at cashing a check.

The Win-Docs are on life support and will need a Tom Izzo miracle to get them into the money. If they run the table they'll equal the Amigos current total. Might be time to pull the plug, docs.

The defending champs are down to their two best, Louisville and Miami, both schools playing good ball. They'll need to run the table to get to 12 wins to have the best shot at defending the 2012 chalise. The Counselors have made their case, but need a good closing argument to have a chance to dance.

The Catholic Boyz?  Not surprising. Let me sing it for ya.....



As for the cellar-dwellers. Call the cops, the Cyclones got robbed. Yeah, that's sour grapes, but the Commish & Associate are looking to get out of the basement, and that's still the goal. Until the Warriors go down, we're not...dead yet.


 Enjoy the Sweet Sixteen.......The Commish.