Elite Eight Report: Elders still atop Calcutta, Amigos threatening

Who's laughing now says the Elders

AMHERST -- The Elders are trying to take this thing gate-to-wire and a strong Sweet Sixteen showing leading up to the weekend has them three points ahead of their nearest competitor. But the Calcutta's swift sword can swing down at any moment and at a drop of the hat they could be teamless and a lead cut down to one or two wins.

But you have to give the old codgers some credit, riding their mid-level seeds to the Elite Eight, eliminating two top seeds in the last round in 1-Houston and 1-North Carolina. That's some major upset work, folks.

Later, skaters

The only good-byes related to the Amigos are the ones they've been dishing out and the Sweet Sixteen was no different. Another big upset by the Wolfpack, who have been on a major heater since the ACC Tourney, had them shutting down the Catholic Boyz in successive games.  After 2-Marquette went down, later in the evening the Amigos sent a final Adios to the Boyz by eliminating 2-Creighton and sending the altar boys packing. The Amigos have a big matchup with the Elders (Duke-NC State) in the South Regional Final that could determine the fate of this Calcutta. 

Barristers getting the trembles

The Counselors were looking sweet early on Thursday when 6-Clemson pulled off the upset over Arizona with North Carolina sitting on deck, but the Tar Heels and Hubert Davis bottled their game against the Tide and the law guys high tide was rolled. They'll need to hope for Nick Saban takes over for Nate Oates in the duel of football powers later tonight. What once looked like a promising road to overtaking the Elders, has turned into a longshot attempt to hit the board.

Kelly, get me the batphone

Lurking in fourth behind the top three at seven wins is the Commish and Associate. He's hit the bat signal in attempts to channel the final pair of 3-Illinois and 1-Purdue into the Final Four. They can only tie for a piece and will need an Elder Elite Eight (EEE!!) meltdown to keep hopes alive. Can take care of business with a Boilermaker triumph over the Vols and eliminate the Slayers with an Illini fighting win over the Huskies. Lots at stake over the weekend.

Slayers have nothing to lose

The Slayers are down to one, but that one is a stone cold assassin, the top seed in the tourney, UConn. They need some help to possibly grab a tie for second or third, but the championship winner dollars are still in play. They'll be playing spoiler and with abandon from this point onward. 

Amaaaziiing Grace.....

It was a beautiful service for the Catholic Boyz. The music was calming and the eulogy delivered by the Amigos had the place in tears. 

Win-Doc draft strategy in pictures

The Win-Docs were able to hit the golf course early this year with last week's exit. Showing off some of their draft strategy above.

Good luck - Final Four is next.

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!

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.

¡Adios Amigos!

BREAKING Amherst, N.Y.- Upset City in San Jose, as the Catholic Boyz (11-Xavier) claim a tie for second-place with the Commish (1-Gonzaga) at 8 wins and start breathing down the necks of the Counselors.

As it is with tradition, the ¡Amigos! have left the building with losses by 2-Arizona and 7-Michigan, so without further adieu.....

 

Things are starting to get interesting in Calcutta land with some big tilts tonight between UCLA-Kentucky (Pickem), UNC (-7.5)-Butler, Baylor(-3.5)-So Carolina and Wisconsin-Florida (-1.5).  All three remaining teams for the Counselors will be in action, favored in one of the three (Baylor).

The Slayers could sweep all three of their games and the Commish will have to go back in the record books to see what the record is for Sweet Sixteen wins, which is currently undocumented.

Good luck, all. Here's a little Jim Reeves to wish our good friends the two-time champion ¡Amigos! a good night.....until next year.

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Third Round Update: You Fought the Law and the Law Won

Counselors dominate Calcutta heading into Sweet Sixteen

On to the Sweet Sixteen!

The Calcutta heads to the Sweet Sixteen and the Barristers head into the regional semifinals in great shape after dominating the third round with four teams advancing. Benefiting from some first round upsets, the Counselors took full advantage of teams that won emotional upsets in the first round (SFA, Mercer) only to get spanked in the court of law on Sunday afternoon.

Here's a capsule look at all of the Calcutta squads, even the one we've lost going into the round of 16....

Counselors roll into Sweet 16

The Counselors. The Counselors threatened to tie the second round record of five wins [Catholicz - 1999 & 2009], but Gonzaga could not hold on late against 1-Arizona and had to settle to match their 2012 effort when they last won the crown. The damage was already done by the lawmen earlier in the day when 4-UCLA and 11-Tennessee took care of business against double-digit seeded teams. The Morning Line favorite's powerhouse team 1-Virginia took care of 8-Memphis with relative ease sending them to the next round in terrific shape and with nine wins notched on their dance card. Unless everything falls apart in the regional semis, it looks like the Counselors will be sipping from the Chalise in two weeks.

Elders looming

Elder Statesmen. Right behind the Counselors are the Elders who were terrific in round one. I was remiss in my last column to mention they were a couple moments away from an unprecedented first round sweep. New Mexico State lost in OT and Manhattan took Louisville deep into the night. The next round had them come back to earth going 2-4, with 3-Iowa State advancing (barely) along with 6-Baylor. Neither of those two teams look to be a major threat to win the national championship, but if Baylor knocks off the Counselors' 2-Wisconsin Badgers in the Sweet Sixteen they could make things interesting. Another solid Calcutta performance by the old guys.

The Bunch's squads are all hot entering the Sweet Sixteen

The Bunch of Chieftans. Of any Calcutta squad, this one probably has the three teams playing the best hoops in the tournament. 7-UConn was impressive in Buffalo disposing of second seeded Villanova and 8-Kentucky came into the NCAAs with a chip on their shoulder. Add top-seeded Florida and the Chieftans could roll in some Calcutta dough before this thing is over. They'll have a say in this thing going forward as matchups with the other three teams in the top four await in the next round. Always a threat.

The Win-Docs. I give Artie credit for not texting me after the Cuse loss, that's class or he lost my number. The Win-Docs marched on through the third round going undefeated with their remaining three teams. 4-Michigan State had a brief scare from Harvard, but ultimately prevailed and will take a big swing at the Counselors top team in the regional semis. 4-Louisville will battle with the Bunch's Wildcats in the battle of Kentucky where there is no love lost between the teams or coaches. The Flyers get somewhat of a break having to face 10-Stanford instead of 3-Kansas, but at this juncture of the tourney, everybody can play. They may sit in fourth, but the Docs are ready for major surgery in the Sweet Sixteen.

The Commishioners: Is there any other way to describe them?

The Commishioners. Team Futility continued its historical ways losing both 3-seeds and advancing a 10-seed in the Stanford Cardinal. If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is around, does it make a noise? They sit in fifth with 5 points, but are on the road to Nowheresville. Thanks a bunch, Creighton.

Catholic Boyz: Took the collar in round 3.

The Catholic Boyz. When 2-Villanova went down late Saturday night, so too did the hopes of the Catholic Boyz. Mathematically eliminated from title contention, they can only hope to run the table with the 4th-seeded Aztecs from San Diego State. Good luck with that.




Dos Amigos. They may sit on the bottom half of the Calcutta today, but with 1-Arizona and 2-Michigan still alive and many of the top seeds faltering in the first two rounds may provide the defending champs with a little bravado. The Amigos with a run of the table could be singing La Cucaracha song before this Calcutta is in the books. An AZ-Mich title game gives them 12 points and some dough-ray-me.

   

The Tax Men. It's never fun to be the first team out, but someone always gets the honor. The Tax Men's championship drought hits the 10-year mark. Thanks for coming, It's been real.

Unfortunately--not tax deductible.

I did receive this video link from the Tax Men's captain this morning in my inbox (click skip ad at beginning)....

 

 Sweet Sixteen recap next Saturday. Good luck!

OMFG-CU!

Headline - h/t Fox Sports

The Commish was dangerously close (a Marquette buzzer beater and an Iowa State upset) from pulling an 0-fer in the first round (I refuse to call it the second round) and taking the all-time donut in the record books. Embarrassing yes, but seeing Georgetown go down to the gutty FGCU Eagles was worth bowing out of this year's contest. Alums all over the country were seen slamming the wheel on their BMWs. Plus the FGCU Coach's wife is hot. I really really thought this year was the year, back to the drawing board, I guess.

Let's move away from the self-loathing and celebrate the Amigos dominant first round with six victories. While not totally unexpected, a good ride by Florida or Michigan and sneak a win out of one of the other four schools and maybe, just maybe, a certain team will be saying Adios to the rest of us. Looking down the way a bit, the loss by Georgetown also opens up the road to a regional final game for Florida, likely to be against Kansas and the Chieftans in a mammoth game.

The rest of the pack is quite tight...

The Elders always seem to pull off that first round upset, and the LaSalle Explorers answered that bell for the old guys holding off a late charging K-State (4 seed). Their major team, Ohio State held serve and two mid-level seeds Memphis and Illinois pulled off impressive victories. The late win by Minnesota in a mild upset over UCLA catapults them into second heading into the next round.

The favored Chieftans did exactly what they needed to, by pulling off two upsets in Oregon (called it as a sleeper pick) and the aforementioned FGCU Eagles. Not only that, but Davidson had Marquette on the ropes and they could easily be sitting atop the Calcutta with a record-tying performance. Only a disappointing loss by Notre Dame cost them a shot at second place.

The 50-1 Catholic Boyz (4 wins), served up a cup of STFU to morning line maker Sheridan, by splitting its four games. However, only one of its remaining teams will be favored going into the next round and St. Louis will have to go through Louisville. Oof.

The Win-Docs are solidly sitting with four wins, with top seed Gonzaga escaping the 1-16 game, and getting wins out of 7 (Creighton) and 8 (UNC) seeds. Michigan State is always dangerous, so the Docs could still be operating well into the Sweet Sixteen.

The Tax Men (4 wins) took a big hit with third-seeded New Mexico's upset to the Crimson, and will have to ride Duke and Syracuse through the next few rounds for a shot at hitting the board. Wins by Wichita State and San Diego State help the cause, with SD State's cause helped by the G-Town upset.

The defending champs, the Counselors, big dawgs looked good, both Louisville and Miami winning in blowout fashion.  They pick up a bonus win by Harvard so their defending title hopes stay alive another day.

The next round usually separates the men from the Commish (I mean boys). We'll have a recap up on Sunday evening or Monday morning.