Jungle Cat Almost Purrfect
Fuenffinger Top Dog In Wolfpack
Beautiful Person Struts Up 75
Sunday Will Be Sweet Or Sour For Mrs.
T
Wins by UCLA, Xavier, and
Utah pushed Jungle Cat (Doni
Jackson) up 32 spots to the top of
the leaderboard Saturday, where she stayed after Notre Dame survived Butler in
overtime. Jackson was one of just 10 players with UCLA, 18 with Xavier, and 37
with Utah. The only blemish on her record was NC StateÕs upset victory over
Villanova.
Jackson is in her eighth consecutive
year of participation, with her best finish being a 23rd-place showing in 2009.
Last year—not so good. The Cat coughed up a
hairball and finished 111th. But she appears to have landed on her feet this
season. A big game for her Sunday is Oregon vs. Wisconsin. Jungle Cat is one of
just five players who picked Oregon.
Nathan Fuenffinger
(@NateFinnFinger) of Columbia, South Carolina, rose
48 spots to second place on the strength of his Utah and NC State Wolfpack upset picks. Fuenffinger
is in his sophomore campaign; he finished 100th last year as a rookie.
Six other players joined Fuenffinger in his own little wolfpack
in taking NC State: Beautiful Person, BosciaÕs Bracket,
Da Bowz, Laoda, Pooty Lederhosen, and theRabbit. Boscia, Laoda,
and Lederhosen all have NC State advancing another round.
Beautiful Person (Andrew Rider, Esq.) was SaturdayÕs biggest mover, jumping 75 spots
all the way to 6th place. The fast-talking, big laughinÕ
(and so, so pretty) former Texan finished 9th last year in just his third year
of competition. HeÕs all dolled up this year and ready to take the blue ribbon.
HeÕll have to fight off a
large contingent of players who picked Michigan State to once again upset
Virginia in the first game Sunday. Forty-two players like the Spartans over the
Cavaliers.
The players with Michigan
State currently placed in the top 16 are Jungle Cat, MAMA, HSauer87, Hoop Scoop,
Mrs. T-1,
PJ,
and theRabbit. Rabbit nearly missed taking over the #1 spot in SaturdayÕs
last game. A win by Butler would have made him todayÕs headliner. But his
bracket isnÕt nearly as healthy as his momÕs, Mrs. T-1 (Cheryl Thompson). She has seven teams alive tomorrow and only had Villanova advancing
to the Elite 8.
A true Spartan loyalist, Mrs.
T picked MSU as her champion and could start her own run to Chippens
glory tomorrow with a Sparty victory. Game time is
noon eastern, but it will be five oÕclock somewhere. A drink with some of that Mrs. T brand mixer might be a good companion . . . and then a refill
might be in order for the Iowa/Gonzaga game. Mrs. T is one of only four
players, along with HSauer87, Papa-G,
and Waltzin to Victory, to take the Hawkeyes.
The standings will most
likely change a lot tomorrow, with many key games closely divided. Wichita
State/Kansas is split 43/60, while Northern Iowa/Louisville is split almost
down the middle, with 53 players taking Northern Iowa and 51 taking Louisville.
Standings Updates: Standings will be updated as close to real time as
possible throughout the day Sunday.