March Madness: Ranking mascots in the East Region

10. Friar Dom (Providence)

Lets just get this out of the way, Friar Dom is super creepy. He looks like a combination of the Grim Reaper and that Monk that steals movies on his phone at the theatres. But I will say this much is he is original. Plus if I was shooting a free throw and he was under the basket, I might lose my concentration so there is that as well. He comes in at ten because he gives free hugs and honestly might’ve been living in my closet when I was seven.

9. The Mountaineer (West Virginia)

Honestly I am not a fan of real Human Mascots. It really limits the field to who can play the part and have fun. Also There is just something cool about a guy dressed up like an unrealistic foam version of something (Friar Dom excluded of course). It’s why everyone loves foam fingers, they are just more fun. But this region has three of said mascots so here we are. Plus all three are far less generic than their Wildcat counter parts so they gain a little ground.

West Virginia checks in at nine on this list because as cool as that mountain bearded man is, the Mountaineer mascot is actually used by eight other schools (though only three of them play Division I basketball). This is also one of two schools where the mascot is unnamed. ROC, Scratch, and Waldo are all stronger names than none at all. If your not Clint Eastwood, your mascot needs a name.

8. The Leprechaun (Notre Dame)

Notre Dame’s mascot checks in one spot after West Virginia as the second mascot without a name. The only reason he is ranked higher is the degree of difficulty of finding a red head to play the part.

7. Traveler (USC)

Traveler ranks this high because he rides a horse. Sorry but that’s just cool. Secondly his name isn’t the mascot, which is something the other two human mascots can not claim. Plus they also have an unofficial mascot named Tommy Trojan (which is a statue), so they have that going for them as well. Regardless this is as high as any real mascot is getting, because again fake mascots are just that much cooler.

6. Captain Cane (Tulsa)

I know Tulsa isn’t a small school as these others are, but they shouldn’t be in the tournament so they get thrown in the fray. Captain Cane is a Superhero, which is different in it’s own right. He use to be yellow with the head of a hurricane making him an actual golden hurricane (as you’ll see in the video below). Considering the name and the difficulty of making a worthwhile mascot, props go out for originality on the previous edition(I mean Miami’s mascot is a stork for crying out loud). Unfortunately the new edition, just doesn’t do as well. So instead of a top five ranking, Captain Cane checks in at number six.

Next: Smaller School Bring their A game