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    Saturday, March 27, 2010

    Kentucky or Duke?

    ... or West Virginia or Kansas St or Baylor?

    The Sweet Sixteen finished yesterday with a whimper. St. Mary's showed up to their game at halftime, and couldn't dig out of the 29 point hole their fill-ins put them in. Tennessee and Michigan St. ensured that someone outside the top 3 in a region will make the Final Four, but that's not really surprising since (outside Kansas), they're probably the two best coached teams in that region, if not the tournament.

    Of much more interest is that the establishment of the Elite Eight has also whittled down our pool to our "Super Six" - the six charities that have a chance of winning it all.

    Yes, my charity is not super. In fact, it's second from the bottom.

    So, without further ado, here are the 2010 TBE Play For A Cause "Super Six":

    Star of Hope (Blake)
    Jesus House (Matt)
    Avon Walk (Matt O.)
    Teach For America (David)
    Phú Mỹ Orphanage (Julie)
    Forever Young Foundation (Tuấn)

    Below is a spreadsheet that lists all possible outcomes of the Elite Eight and the winner of our pool. This was much easier than expected because nobody chose Tennessee, Michigan St, or Butler to reach the Elite Eight, and only two chose Kansas State. That said, those two soothsayers happen to be among the Super Six, so the Kansas State game holds big ramifications.



    Today there are two games: Kansas State vs Butler and Kentucky vs West Virginia. The Kansas State game is easy. Both Matts (Jesus House and Avon Walk) picked K-State. If you root for either of those charities, you'll want K-State to win, because it helps your cause tremendously.

    Kentucky vs West Virginia holds a lot more weight. Essentially, if Kentucky wins, we're guaranteed that the pool winner will be Star of Hope, Jesus House, Phú Mỹ Orphanage, or Avon Walk.

    However, if West Virginia wins, we've got the cadre of Teach For America, Forever Young Foundation and Avon Walk. Choose your sides!

    Obviously, Avon Walk is in the driver's seat, especially if Kansas State wins today. This is because if West Virginia beats Kentucky and then makes the final, Teach For America wins UNLESS, Kansas State wins and Duke wins their elite eight game.

    So, pick your side, Kentucky or West Virginia, and may the best charity win.

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