Ruder Awakening
Mary Kate Needs Volunteers
Three With UMBC
Connelly Too Cavalier
Kelsey Ruder,
f/k/a KelseyRuder,
seized control of the leaderboard after Day Two by virtue of the first
tie-breaker, pick percentage, over whatÕs with all the
bracket? and our friend from yesterday, Jason Mendoza.
Ruder was as hot as a
straight iron on Friday, correctly picking 14 of 16 games to jump up 32 spots
on the day and enter the round of 32 with 32 points. The Cadillac native
charged up the standings like she was leading the historic Battle of
Manton, or, as she would say in her peculiar way, ÒBattle of Mattin.Ó
This is RuderÕs third
competition since 2012. Her second go-round was in 2015, so apparently she
needs two years off between competitions. SheÕs like the Olympics or the World
Cup, except she comes out every three years instead of every four. Perhaps this
third triennial will be the charm.
Only one player besides
Ruder got 27 right in round one, and that player is MaryK8. Currently
in 4th place, Mary KateÕs bracket is looking very nice indeed considering she
is NOT one of the 91 players to pick either Ariz-oh-no or
Virgin-ya-gotta-be-kidding-me to advance to the Final Four out of the south
regional. Mary Kate is one of just three players with Tennessee. Nine players
have Kentucky and 16 chose Cincinnati. This could be Mary KateÕs chance to
repeat—or even better—her second-place finish in 2010.
Congrats to Cara with a
T—Carat???, Chidi Anagonye,
and WhereÕs Bucky?
for correctly picking the greatest upset in tournament history. As it appears
none of the three have any hope of winning this yearÕs Championship, I hope
they each enjoy the satisfaction of having their so-crazy-it-just-might-work pick
actually work.
The Virginia game did not
work out so well for Connelly
Bowling of Hart, Michigan, one of the 22 players who unfortunately picked
Virginia to win it all.
Sources tell Chippens that
Connelly, now in his second season, was crowing all over Facebook about his
fourth place standing after Day One. ÒHope that continues,Ó he wrote—in
white lettering against a backdrop of green shamrocks—just hours before
his fortunes were completely shattered by the greatest tournament upset of all
time.
What will no doubt make
the reversal of fortune even more bitter for Connelly, an MSU partisan, is that
he turned his back on the Spartans, who he picked to lose to Virginia. IÕm sure
his sister, The
Breeze (also a big Spartan fan), wonÕt let him live it down any time soon.
Anything can happen as the
round of 32 begins. Standings will be updated throughout the day Saturday. Good
luck.