Tons of NBA level talent and All-Americans are going to be on the court in the Bayou on Saturday night, and tonight, we are making our 2012 Final Four predictions by breaking down the Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Kansas Jayhawks betting lines.

2012 Final Four Matchup: #2 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. #2 Kansas Jayhawks
Final Four Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Final Four Date/Time: Saturday, March 31st, 8:45 p.m.
Ohio State vs. Kansas Television Coverage: CBS

Key #1: The bigs for the Buckeyes have to stay out of foul trouble
Deshaun Thomas and Jared Sullinger are really the heart and soul of the Buckeyes. They are the men that truly can dominate the game on both sides of the court, and when they are on, they are capable of some big time damage. They are averaging nearly 34 points and 15 boards per game between them, and they have to stay on the court. Sullinger battled foul problems at times this year, averaging right around three foul per game on average. We have seen him struggle against some decent big men that were right around his height, but this time around, he is going to have two big time post players in Jeff Withey and Thomas Robinson draped all over him on both sides of the court. The depth just isn’t there for this team if Sullinger is on the bench, as there isn’t a player that averaged even a dozen minutes per game for Head Coach Thad Matta this year outside of his starting five. It could be bad news if Sullinger gets two quick fouls, and if that turns out to be the case for the second straight game, OSU might not be all that lucky.

Final Four Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Ohio State Buckeyes -2.5
Kansas Jayhawks +2.5
Click Here to Bet Your Final Four Picks!

Key #2: Tyshawn Taylor has to have a second straight star-like performance
When Taylor signed on the dotted line to come to Lawrence, there was a heck of a lot of hope that he would be the next in a great line of Kansas guards. That being said, he has largely disappointed. This is the first year that he has averaged double digits in scoring, and in his first three tourney games in 2012, he scored just a grand total of 26 points. That isn’t going to cut it in this one to say the least. Taylor did score 22 against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Elite Eight last weekend. It was encouraging to say the least, but Aaron Craft and William Buford are significantly more experienced and have more to bring to the table defensively than the Tar Heels could without both of their best point guards from the start of the season playing. This is a man that is a lifetime 37 percent shooter from beyond the arc, and he shot at least 48 percent from the field over the course of his career as well. Taylor has to keep that up and be the hero on the biggest stage now that he is a senior.

Key #3: The Buckeyes can’t try to get into a three-point shooting game
There aren’t many aspects to the game that the Buckeyes aren’t very good at, but shooting the three-point shot is one of them. They shot just 33.2 percent from beyond the arc this year as a team, and they have the tendency to go cold when push comes to shove. This is a team that has only taken 20 or more three-point shots once in the three games here in the dance, and that one game was the truly close call against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Last year when the Buckeyes were pounding the interior, they were relatively unstoppable. However, when they tried to push their game to the outside in the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats in the Sweet 16, they were simply off the mark when it counted the most. OSU has to get the ball to the inside more often, and then shooting games like William Buford had against UK when he shot just 2-for-16 from the floor won’t happen. If that’s the case, it would take a herculean effort by a Jayhawk to pull off the mild upset.

Click Here to get the best March Madness picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our NCAA Tournament picks and the Final Four picks for the rest of the NCAA Tournament game odds.

You aren’t going to find two teams in college basketball that have a bigger rivalry than the Louisville Cardinals and the Kentucky Wildcats. The two will meet in the Bayou to kick off our 2012 Final Four predictions on Saturday night in what might be one of the most anticipated games that we have seen in college basketball in quite some time.

2012 Final Four Matchup: #4 Louisville Cardinals vs. #1 Kentucky Wildcats
Final Four Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Final Four Date/Time: Sunday, March 31st, 6:00 p.m.
Louisville vs. Kentucky Television Coverage: CBS

Key #1: The Cardinals have to knock the Wildcats off of their game
… And that mean cranking up the pressure defensively. There were times against the Florida Gators in the Elite 8 that the Cardinals didn’t seem to have the same type of intensity that they did against, say the Michigan State Spartans. In that Sweet 16 matchup with the Big Ten champs, Louisville was able to absolutely take the Spartan out of what they wanted to do offensively, and in the end, it was good enough to put a lay a big time beat down on them. Against Florida at the end of the game, the defense showed those flashes once again. If the Cards can do this against MSU and Florida, there is no reason to think that a Kentucky team that has a ton of guards that have little to no experience at this level fits as well. What we have seen with the Wildcats in the past is that physical games can be concerning to them, especially if Terrence Jones doesn’t have his best stuff, so we do think that the possibility is there that the ‘Ville can accomplish this goal. Louisville has to make sure that it really gets in Kentucky’s head though, and forces a ton of turnovers and stupid fouls. That being said…

Final Four Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Louisville Cardinals +9
Kentucky Wildcats -9
Click Here to Bet Your Final Four Picks!

Key #2: Louisville has to stay out of foul trouble
We’re looking at you, Peyton Siva, Gorgui Dieng, and Chane Behanan! These three were in foul trouble all night against the Gators, and it was up to Head Coach Rick Pitino to try to figure out the crucial moments to get these three into the lineup. When they were off the court, Louisville really struggled, especially defensively, and as we have already determined, this is the calling card for this team. If Gorgui gets into foul difficulties, all of a sudden, the Cardinals don’t look like all that great of an interior defensive side. They are going to be up against it for sure at that point, as the three big boys, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones, and Anthony Davis could be dominating on both sides of the court. The Cardinals have to be aggressive, but they have to be smart, and they have to make sure that they don’t commit all that many foolish fouls to take themselves out of the game.

Key #3: The Wildcats have to take their time and keep this game at a reasonable pace
Though you would think of Louisville as a team that loves to push the basketball, that isn’t really necessarily the case. Sure, Pitino would rather start to put pressure on the opposition on both sides of the court, and as a result, there are a lot of points that are scored in transition. Kentucky has had a habit in this tournament of running perhaps a bit too much. The team has allowed at least 66 in all four of its games in the tourney, and that came after allowing fewer than 60 points per game in the regular season. Sure, the offense has the ability to get the job done as well, but we just don’t see this Louisville outfit allowing in the 70s, let alone in the 80s (or in the 100s!) as the Wildcats have reached in all of their games in March Madness. That means that Marquis Teague has to be smart with the basketball and that all of these youngsters that don’t have all that much experience need to keep their heads on straight. This was a team that shot just 33.9 percent from the field and jacked up 27 three-point shots against the Connecticut Huskies in the Final Four last year. That just can’t be the case once again if the Wildcats hope to move on to the finale on Monday.

Click Here to get the best March Madness picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our NCAA Tournament picks and the Final Four picks for the rest of the NCAA Tournament game odds.

There is only one more week before the Masters, and in the final tune up before the first major of the year, we are going to break down the 2012 Shell Houston Open odds, as some of the best golfers in the world try to make for great Shell Houston Open picks.

2012 Shell Houston Open Predictions & Info
2012 Shell Houston Open Dates: Thursday, March 29th – Sunday, April 1st 2012
2012 Shell Houston Open Location: Redstone Golf Club Tournament Course, Humble, TX
Defending Shell Houston Open Winner: Phil Mickelson
2012 Shell Houston Open TV Coverage – Network: Golf Channel, NBC

This tournament tends to bring out some of the top golfers, and that is demonstrated by the fact that the defending champion of the Shell Houston Open is Phil Mickelson (Favorite To Win 2012 Shell Houston Open: 7.90 to 1 @ SportBet Sportsbook). Lefty already has a win this year at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and he is coming off of a year in which he only had that one win in the Lone Star State. Mickelson had a tremendous weekend, shooting a 63 and a 65, and he ended up posting a tremendous -20 score for the entire tournament to win by three shots. Mickelson is one of the top golfers in the world for sure, and he is going to be one of the top men to bet on in the Shell Houston Open.

The man that could be dangerous in this event is Hunter Mahan (Shell Houston Open Odds: 20 to 1 @ SportBet Sportsbook). Mahan has won three events in his career, and he has a great history here in Humble. He has three Top 10 finishes at the Shell Houston Open in his career, and he has really gotten off to a great start this year with a bunch of solid Top 25 finishes as well. Mahan is one of these golfers that you might be able to get a great price with at this tournament, knowing he isn’t one of the great “names” like a Phil Mickelson or a Tiger Woods that always tends to be overpriced.

List Of Past Shell Houston Open Winners (Since 2000)
2011 – Phil Mickelson
2010 – Anthony Kim
2009 – Paul Casey
2008 – Johnson Wagner
2007 – Adam Scott
2006 – Stuart Appleby
2005 – Vijay Singh
2004 – Vijay Singh
2003 – Fred Couples
2002 – Vijay Singh
2001 – Hal Sutton
2000 – Robert Allenby

One of the top golfers in the world that is going to be at this event is Lee Westwood (Odds To Win The Shell Houston Open: 9 to 1 @ SportBet Sportsbook). Westy doesn’t play in all that many tournaments here in the States over the course of the year, so this is going to be a treat. He didn’t have a great tournament here at the Shell Houston last year, finishing in 30th place, but it didn’t turn out to be the worst thing in the world after finishing in 11th and picking up a big payday at the Masters last year. There was only one tournament in 2011 in which Westwood finished outside of the Top 30, and if he keeps this up this year, he is going to be a great Shell Houston Open prediction for this event.

It seems like a long time ago that we were calling for Graeme McDowell (Shell Houston Open Lines: 25 to 1 @ SportBet Sportsbook) to be successful. McDowell didn’t have a great end of the season last year, and he really didn’t end up paying off for those who had confidence in him. He had a terrible end to the season, finishing the year out by missing several cuts, but with a new season, we would hope that he could be a bit of a sleeper for this one.

Odds to Win Shell Houston Open @ SportBet Sportsbook (as of 3/29/12):
(Get a HUGE 100% Bonus at SportBet.com When Using This Link)
Phil Mickelson 7.90 to 1
Lee Westwood 9 to 1
Steve Stricker 12 to 1
Keegan Bradley 18 to 1
Hunter Mahan 20 to 1
Charl Schwartzel 25 to 1
Graeme McDowell 25 to 1
Johnson Wagner 30 to 1
Aaron Baddeley 34 to 1
Ernie Els 36 to 1
Rickie Fowler 40 to 1
Ryan Moore 45 to 1
John Senden 46 to 1
Kyle Stanley 46 to 1
Bryce Molder 50 to 1
Bud Cauley 50 to 1
Padraig Harrington 50 to 1
Peter Hanson 50 to 1
Henrik Stenson 66 to 1
Louis Oosthuizen 66 to 1
Jeff Overton 80 to 1
Robert Allenby 80 to 1
Sean O’Hair 80 to 1
Ben Crane 85 to 1
Chris Stroud 85 to 1
Thomas Bjorn 100 to 1
Spencer Levin 110 to 1
Fred Couples 115 to 1
JB Holmes 115 to 1
Paul Casey 115 to 1
Anthony Kim 125 to 1
Carl Pettersson 125 to 1
Jimmy Walker 125 to 1
John Rollins 125 to 1
Kevin Streelman 125 to 1
Michael Thompson 125 to 1
Ryan Palmer 125 to 1
Seung Yul Noh 125 to 1
Anders Hansen 135 to 1
YE Yang 135 to 1
Brandt Jobe 150 to 1
Brian Davis 150 to 1
Charley Hoffman 150 to 1
Chris Kirk 150 to 1
Justin Leonard 150 to 1
Pat Perez 150 to 1
Scott Piercy 150 to 1
Chad Campbell 165 to 1
Brian Harman 175 to 1
Josh Teater 175 to 1
Brendon De Jonge 185 to 1
Cameron Tringale 200 to 1
Camilo Villegas 200 to 1
Marc Leishman 200 to 1
Ben Curtis 225 to 1
DA Points 225 to 1
Harris English 225 to 1
Heath Slocum 225 to 1
Vaughn Taylor 225 to 1
Graham Delaet 250 to 1
Harrison Frazar 250 to 1
John Huh 250 to 1
John Mallinger 250 to 1
Lucas Glover 250 to 1
Matt Every 250 to 1
Will Claxton 250 to 1
Andres Romero 275 to 1
Angel Cabrera 285 to 1
William McGirt 285 to 1
Daniel Summerhays 300 to 1
Scott Verplank 300 to 1
Stuart Appleby 300 to 1
Nick O’Hern 325 to 1
Ricky Barnes 325 to 1
Stewart Cink 325 to 1
Blake Adams 350 to 1
Kris Blanks 375 to 1
Danny Lee 385 to 1
Boo Weekley 400 to 1
Brendan Steele 400 to 1
Jhonattan Vegas 400 to 1
Bob Estes 425 to 1
Chris Couch 425 to 1
David Hearn 425 to 1
JJ Henry 425 to 1
Jamie Lovemark 425 to 1
Jason Kokrak 425 to 1
Chris DiMarco 450 to 1
Greg Owen 450 to 1
Rod Pampling 450 to 1
DJ Trahan 475 to 1
Jason Bohn 500 to 1
Nathan Green 525 to 1
Tim Herron 525 to 1
Darren Clarke 550 to 1
Roland Thatcher 585 to 1
Billy Mayfair 625 to 1
Joe Ogilvie 650 to 1
Bill Lunde 675 to 1
John Merrick 675 to 1
Sunghoon Kang 675 to 1
Tommy Gainey 675 to 1
Martin Flores 685 to 1
James Driscoll 700 to 1
Jeff Maggert 700 to 1
Matt Bettencourt 700 to 1
Troy Matteson 700 to 1
Colt Knost 725 to 1
Erik Compton 725 to 1
Roberto Castro 725 to 1
Hunter Haas 800 to 1
Ryuji Imada 800 to 1
Bobby Gates 825 to 1
Brendon Todd 875 to 1
JJ Killeen 875 to 1
Mark Anderson900 to 1
Ted Potter Jr. 900 to 1
Michael Bradley 925 to 1
Jonas Blixt 950 to 1
Cameron Beckman 975 to 1
Arjun Atwal 1,000 to 1
Billy Hurley III 1,000 to 1
David Mathis 1,000 to 1
Derek Lamely 1,000 to 1
Duffy Waldorf 1,000 to 1
Kyle Reifers 1,000 to 1
Lonny Alexander 1,000 to 1
Miguel Angel Carballo 1,000 to 1
Richard H. Lee 1,000 to 1
Tom Pernice, Jr. 1,000 to 1
Troy Kelly 1,000 to 1