Ooh, Ahh Chieftans on the Warpath

AMHERST – The Chieftans utilized a big Friday night win by 6-Tennessee to open a 2-point lead in the 2026 edition of the William A. Karin Memorial Calcutta over their nearest competitor.

The top three teams could lay claim to the title, with the Amigos and Catholic Boyz nipping at the Chief and crew’s heels.

First three out in the Sweet Sixteen were the Elders, Commish and Slayers….see ya next year!

The Counselors and Win-Docs can only hope to run the table with their lone teams and potentially grab a slice of the show spot.

Let’s take a team-by-team capsule look into the weekend festivities:

Chieftans advance two to Elite Eight, Calcutta is in their hands.

A repeat of last year’s Elite Eight headline for the Chieftans who could win a record ninth Calcutta and back-to-back titles. Went 0-and-2 on Thursday only to sweep Friday’s affairs with 1-Duke surviving a scare from the relentless 5-Johnnies. Huge Michigan-Tennessee tilt with the second-place Amigos on Sunday could say a lot on who will advance. They’re the ones to beat.

Amigos defy odds, riding Michigan and Iowa
coattails

I have to admit on draft night I was skeptical of the Amigos draft, when focusing a little closer while setting the morning line, I started to warm up to their bracket positioning and made them the third choice. They gathered the necessary first round wins, advanced two to both the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight and can ride 1-Michigan as long as they can. Cinderella 9-Iowa has done yeoman work to get this far and a big matchup loom with the Boyz tonight in Houston.

Catholic Boyz poised to strike

They sit one behind the Amigos and three behind the leaders, with two strong B1G squads remaining. 2-Purdue and 3-Illinois have monstrous Elite Eight matchups and we’ll know their potential fate much better after this evening. Illinois beat Iowa by six in Iowa City in early January, which would indicate this could be an all-out brawl in H-town. Purdue faces a strong Wildcat team, but you have to beat the best to be the best. The Boyz will be putting on their finest whites for a big Saturday night.  Oddsmakers would give them a much better shot if they were playing after mass on Sunday, however.

Sayonara Commish, Elders, Slayers

I swear the Commish would have 6-7 wins coming out of the first round. Au Revoir Le Commish.

The Elders started with three in the Sweet Sixteen and end with a Code Blue. Mid-pack finish for the old guys.

The Slayers likely finish in last, worthy of their 20-1 longshot casting by the ML maker.

Peace out.

Win-Docs survive, need Wildcats to run the table

The Win-Docs will look to break a tie with the Slayers for most national champions selected should 1-Arizona win out. They’ll have a rough road to hoe with a potential Purdue, Michigan and likely Duke path to the natty. We shall see. 

Counselors ride the back of Dan Hurley the rest of the way

The solicitors and Dan Hurley are a match made in heaven. Tough, carefree and a mouth as dirty as a kid after spaghetti night. They can play a huge spoiler with a 2-UConn upset of Duke tomorrow. Court will be open on Sunday.

The results will be posted over the next few days in the google sheet link in the top right corner as usual. Final Four report - Monday morning with all possible outcomes. 

Good luck everyone!

 

Morning line set for 26 Calcutta, Chieftans early favorite

 

AMHERST – The 27th annual kicked off March Madness in fine fashion, concluding with the Yellow Jacket presentation to the Chieftans, winner of the 2025 edition of the William A. Karin Memorial Chalise.

The Chieftans won for a record ninth time in the Calcutta and ended a three-year streak of the Slayers selecting the national champ.

On to 2026.

A wide-open tourney where any of the top 8 teams could vie for the natty.

In Calcutta Land, the top-seeded teams went for 40, 40, 40 and 39, showing how close the top echelon of competitors there are in this year’s NCAAs.

Shout out to the Auction Pro which tendered only one minor glitch all evening (sorry Counselors, UNC stinks anyways).

Seeing old faces, even if once a year is always good for the soul and our group moves forward yet another year without a defection.

Here’s the morning line, the Commish has been a solid morning-line maker over the past few years, eyeing the eventual champion Chieftans last year as the second choice…who will get tabbed as this year’s fav?

Defending champs lukewarm Morning Line Favorites at 3-1

We were leaning a couple of different ways to set the favorite, including yours truly, but landed on the Chiefs to defend their land in 2026. Rock solid top seed Duke-1 headlines Indigent Nation with a solid right half of the bracket in Arkansas-4 in the West and Tennessee-6 and Georgia-8 in the Midwest. The tribe is a proven commodity that’s the one to beat.

Morning Line Odds: 3-1; Longshot: VCU-11; ASR: 8.25

Commish spends early, maneuvers late

Early mover, late shaker. Commish & Assoc. garnered the lowest seed rating on the day and snatched the cheapest top seed in Florida-1. After spending large for Alabama-4 in the Midwest and for dark horse Louisville-6 in the East, the Commish is well balanced in each region, which is poetry in motion in some Calcutta years. A late evening math gaffe by the Win-Docs landed a 9-seed (TCU) for the low, low price of two bucks. Will need some mid-seed magic in the early rounds to put them in the catbird seat.

Morning Line Odds: 4-1; Longshot: Saint Mary’s-7; ASR: 7.0

Amigos chase the blue bloods looking for first title since 2019

Went big with Michigan added the basketball blue bloods Kansas-4, UNC-6 and Kentucky-7, all on off years, but with solid name recognition. You know who else had great name recognition, Abe Lincoln. Seriously, the Mexicanas have some solid mid seeds in Iowa-9 and Utah St-9 (who I love). Last outright championship was in 2013, coming close in 2024 as runner-up to the Elders.

Morning Line Odds: 6-1; Longshot: Utah State-9; ASR: 8.25

The Counselors look to break the drought

It is a year to end droughts in Buffalo, so don’t count out the barristers. I’ll give them a solid left side of the bracket, but they’ll need help on the left side with lone single-digit seed Wisconsin-5.  Two big dogs, UConn-2 and Houston-2 were both in consideration for top seeds over the last two weeks, falling in conference tourney championships. The legal beagles can ride those two to the prom but will need to bring them to the final dance to have a chance.

Morning Line Odds: 8-1; Longshot: Santa Clara-10; ASR: 8.38

Elders strategy unchanged in 27 years; big shot to hit the board

I haven’t had to change this headline in 27 years.  You’d have to do some long, hard research to find the last No. 1 seed this team drafted…they go mid-seed with hopes to cash a ticket. Monday was a little different in that their ASR rating was higher than usual, but they just didn’t overspend. Lowest two seeds however are in the same bracket (whoops) in Michigan State-3 and the Johnnies-5 in the East. Like his West teams, BYU-6 (low NET rating) and High Point-12 as solid win stealers. Give the old fellers their due.

Morning Line Odds: 10-1; Longshot: High Point-12; ASR: 9.13

The Win-Docs unbalanced and vulnerable

The left side of their bracket is a train wreck. Nothing lower than a 12. How does that happen? Right side is murderer’s row with Arizona-1, Gonzaga-3 and Virginia-3 and maybe a Cinderella in Miami of Ohio (Amigo-1’s alma mater). They’ll have to withstand some punches early, but three teams that will need to go long into the tourney to win it all.

Morning Line Odds; 12-1; Longshot: McNeese-12; ASR: 9.13

Catholic Boyz needs Big Ten dominance

Ended up with some bad teams (two 15s and a 16) and ended up with some good teams. Well balanced in each of the brackets (survive and advance is the word for the men of cloth). Purdue-2 will have to duplicate their efforts in the B1G tourney and 3-Illinois has a solid bunch. UCLA-7 rounds out their Big Ten bulk and Texas Tech-5 can surprise. They could’ve landed higher on this list, but four quick losses look imminent.

Morning Line Odds: 15-1; Longshot: South Florida-11; ASR: 9.38

Slayers will play the longshot role

Sometimes this happens when you hold your dough too long. It gets soggy. Will need some big 8-9 and 7-10 game upset wins in the first round if they are going to be a threat. Iowa State-2 is good but has historically faltered early in the tourney. Loved the work during the draft but seems like there’s not much to show for it. Could prove me wrong.

Morning Line Odds: 20-1; Longshot: Pick a 10 seed not named Santa Clara; ASR: 8.38

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. 

Good luck everyone!

Slayers slay draft through patience and persistence

 

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!

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.

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.