Great news hoops fans! The Elite Eight is finally here. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is entering its final stages and four excellent basketball programs will lock horns later tonight for a spot in the Final Four.
Opening festivities tonight is the clash between powerhouse teams Wisconsin and Arizona in the West Regional final. Then, the Kentucky Wildcats resume their chase for history when they take on the reigning ACC champions Notre Dame in a Midwest Regional final.
Read on below for a quick breakdown of these two Elite Eight matchups and while you’re at it you can check out our complete Elite Eight picks and predictions here.
[sc:MarchMadness ]No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers vs. No. 2 Arizona Wildcats (6:09 PM ET)
Line: Wisconsin Badgers (+1.5) vs. Arizona Wildcats (-1.5); total: 133.5 – view all March Madness lines
Wisconsin moved a step closer to sealing a return trip to the Final Four with a gritty 79-72 comeback victory over North Carolina on Thursday night. Sam Dekker scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Badgers to their ninth consecutive win. Extending that streak to 10 games won’t be easy, though, as standing in their way in the regional final are the surging Arizona Wildcats.
No. 2 Arizona survived a spirited challenge from No. 6 Xavier to pull off a nerve-wracking 68-60 win in the Sweet 16. Three players scored in double-figures for the Wildcats who earned their third Elite Eight berth in five years.
The Badgers are 9-1 SU and 5-5 ATS in their last 10 games. The Wildcats are 10-0 SU and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 outings.
You can check out a complete preview of the game here.
Writer’s Prediction
Wisconsin edges past Arizona, 70-68.
No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats vs. No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8:49 PM ET)
Line: Kentucky Wildcats (-11.5) vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+11.5); total: 136.0 – view all March Madness lines
Notre Dame’s fairy tale run continued on Thursday as the Fighting Irish sealed their first Elite Eight appearance since 1979 with a convincing 81-70 win over the Wichita State Shockers. The Fighting Irish blew the game wide open with a blistering second-half performance, shooting 75 percent (18-of-24) from the field in the final 20 minutes.
They will need every bit of that offensive brilliance as lying in wait in the next round are the mighty Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky extended its winning streak to an incredible 37 games with an emphatic 78-39 rout of the West Virginia Mountaineers. They held the Mountaineers to just 0.62 points per possession, the worst offensive efficiency in the 2015 NCAA Tournament thus far.
Kentucky is 10-0 SU and 6-3-1 ATS in its last 10 games. Notre Dame is 9-1 SU and 7-3 ATS in its last 10 outings.
Click here for an in-depth breakdown of this game.
Writer’s Prediction
Kentucky wins, 74-67. Create a betting account now and bet on the best games for tonight.
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