Pre-Tournament Odds

To prove to you the value of this handicapping, last year I installed Scooter as the odds on favorite.  Scooter proceeded to finish in last going away 80 points away from the next finisher (ouch).  In my defense I did install Pags and Mana next (after my given second place finish) and they indeed did battle it out with Pags being the victor.  This year was almost impossible to handicap, 

Last year we did NFL QBs for each team.  This year I am going with a hockey player of note (either current or legend) to match each squad.  Tried to go NY where possible.

Farco - Pick #1  4-1

Best Pick - Tanner (Vandy) Round 3

Worst Pick - Dent (UCLA)  {I just always dislike UCLA for some reason, I think it was because they hired Chip Kelly}

Hockey Guy Mascot: Mike Bossy (Islanders) - Vastly underrated and at the end of the day may be one of the best

Farco nabbed the 1 pick and grabbed the top prize (Boozer) so he will get some good scoring early.  He grabbed some possible longevity after that in Zona and Illinois  and then nabbed Vandy's Tanner at the perfect time.  Solid 13 pick and his Zags guy might be around a while too.  All in all I see Farco in the mix.  

Pick #2 - Strong Island JT   9-2

Best Pick - DeRidder (Virginia) Round 3

Worst Pick - Wilkinson (Georgia) Not a bad pick, just an 8 seed and I couldn't find a bad pick outside him

Hockey Guy Mascot: Ron Duguay (Always looks good on paper but then you look at this stats and go...."huh....I thought he was better")

Is this finally the year for the return of Strong Island JT to the top of the standings?      Mid pack finish last year was an improvement off of 2024....and that was over 2023 and that was over 2022.  So in keeping with the "trend is your friend" JT is due.  His south of NY fan club has been patiently waiting for the return.

Pick #3 - Red Light, aka "El Queso"  Normally a lock for 2nd but this year not feelin it.  10-1

Best Pick - Lendenborg (Mich)

Worst pick - The rest of them

Hockey Guy Mascot:  Connor McDavid (Edmonton) Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

I believe my second place streak is at an end this year sadly.  Solo Ball was an awful pick in round 2 and it went downhill from there.  After ragging on everyone for early 12-16 picks last year what did I do?  Oh right, I took my guy in Round 5.  T-mac did his best to help me salvage this squad but even his generous "what are you doing dopey" after I attempted to pick a guy who was clearly out didn't stop me from following up with horrific selections.     

Pick #4 - Cat  7-2 ( I could not uphold the tradition here, unfortunately I liked his team too much...which should be the kiss of death anyway)

Best pick -Wegler (Illinois) Round 2

Worst Pick - "Big" Johnson (Michigan) round 3  not actually a bad pick - I just like it the least

Hockey Guy Mascot:  Bryan Trottier (Islanders)  Solid solid solid.  A winner if he's got the right luck and bounces.

My only knock on the Rocky Mountain Lion's team is that his first pick wasn't a leading scorer on his team.  Having said that, it wasn't a bad pick.  Gillespie pick may turn out to be a great pick if Rick Barnes gets his Vols past Virginia which I think could very well happen.  

Pick #5  Pags (The Champ-peen)  4-1

Best Pick - Philon (Alabama) Round 2

Worst Pick - Thornton (OSU) Round 7  Fine for a 7th rounder 7+ pick but 8-9 picks are tough and often one and done

Hockey Guy Mascot:  Sam Bennett (Florida Panthers Stanley Cup MVP)  Guy gets it done and may do it again

Pags faces tough competition this year and a repeat is hard enough to it's not highly likely to pull off but Pags has a decent team.  I don't love Florida but they are a one seed and if he gets them and Bama to stick around he will be in it.    

Pick #6 - T-Mac     9-2  

Best pick - Anderson (Texas Tech) Round 4

Worst Pick - Thomas (Virginia) Round 3 

Hockey Guy Mascot: Patrick Kane  (Might have struggled the last few years but there is a pedigree of winning in the body of work)

T-Mac got bit by the upset bug last year and his big guys didn't show up which can happen to anyone but he did manage to steer clear of Illinois players for the first time in three years and given his finishes in the last two years that is probably a good thing.  I See T-Mac as a possible contender this year because he has bucket getters, he just needs some longevity.

Pick #7  El Bagre  5-1

Best Pick - Oweh (Kentucky) Round 4

Worst Pick - Reed (UCONN) Round 2 (just a round early perhaps) 

Hockey Guy Mascot:  Denis Potvin (For you ranger fans, "Potvin Sucks!!!").  Good balance of both aspects, might not notice him until the game is over and he's ahead of you.

El Bagre (best nickname in this pool) was putting together a streak to mimic my own as he finished third three straight years prior to last year when he fell to 6th.  That happened not because his guys got knocked out but because his guys simply didn't score and put up many single digit games.   I believe El Bagre may be back on track though as he went more for scoring this year so he very well could get back in the upper echelon. 

Pick #8 - Mana   4-1

Best Pick - Dybantsa (BYU) Round 4 

Worst Pick - Roberts (Penn) Round 7  (only because there was a better guy on Penn who put up 40 in their conference final)

Hockey Guy Mascot: Henrik Lundqvist (as a former goaltender {or "puck matador" as some claimed} I always highly respected King Henrik and his steady consistency.  

Mana pulled the #8 pick (not an easy place to pick from) for the second year in a row.  He is usually in the top 3.  He has fire power this year and if BYU pulls off an upset or two he will be tough to beat.  

Pick #9 - Dustin  4-1

Best Pick - Acuff (Arkansas) Round 2

Worst Pick - Bilodeau (UCLA) Round 4 (See Chip Kelly comment above)

Hockey Guy Mascot: Mario Lemieux  (Two time champ with the comeback)

Dustin's return last year wasn't triumphant with a bottom third uncharacteristic finish but he had a nice draft here and joins the 4-1 ranks with almost everyone else.  Love his early picks so if he gets some games with his late picks, he could have his return to glory.  

Pick #10 - Scooter 4-1

Best Pick - Smith (Purdue) Round 2

Worst Pick - Baby Bryce (Providence.....I mean....St Johns) Round 7

Hockey Guy Mascot: Artemi Panarin (Always looks good on paper but his team is usually low in the standings)

Scooter needs some bounces to go his way.  If he didn't have bad luck last year, he'd have had no luck losing 4 of 7 in Round 1.  A win is going to be a tough ask with two Johnnies on the roster and a very tough 5 Seed road that goes through some seriously good teams (his Johnnies got hosed again with that).  With two basement finishes in the last 5 years, safe to say Scooter will at minimum start an uptrend this year and with any luck and his johnnies catching fire, can't rule him out.