The 2013 NCAA Tournament schedule winds down to just a few games left on the docket. We are here at the Final Four in Atlanta, where the Wichita State Shockers and the Louisville Cardinals are set to go to battle. Join us here at Bankroll Sports, as we analyze some of the Wichita State vs. Louisville props and the Final Four props to make some money if you don’t want to bet the Wichita State vs. Louisville point spread.

Carl Hall Over/Under 6.5 Rebounds: Hall is one of the few Shockers that really hasn’t had a great NCAA Tournament. He has only averaged 11.8 points and 4.8 boards per game in the four games that the team has played in the dance, and he is going to be expected to do a heck of a lot more than that in this one. Louisville is a great rebounding team though, and it is going to be able to be the next team in line to really keep Hall from going off. The second-year man out of the Sunshine State has averaged 6.9 rebounds per game, so this seems like a relatively fair number, save for the fact that the Cardinals have really done a tremendous job on the glass all season long. Hall only had 11 points and six rebounds against the Pitt Panthers in the first round of this tournament, and we don’t see him doing any better than that in this one. Carl Hall Under 6.5 Rebounds (-125)

Russ Smith Over/Under 6.5 Foul Shots Made: The one thing that we’ll say about Smith is that he is definitely aggressive. This isn’t your prototypical three-point shooter. Smith is going to go after the hoop, create contact, and go to the charity stripe as a result. Over the course of his last three games in the dance, he has made at least nine free throws. We have no reason not to believe that Smith won’t get to the line at least 10 times again in this one, and if he does that, he’ll make at least seven of the shots. This is one of the easier props on the board to bet here in the Final Four. Russ Smith Over 6.5 Free Throws Made (-120)

Peyton Siva Total Points Over/Under 10.5: Siva really took over in that game against the Duke Blue Devils after the injury to G Kevin Ware that shook the core of the Louisville nation and sports fans everywhere. Whereas most of the Cardinals were in shock, and some were in tears, Siva really took over as a leader. He finished that game with 16 points, and that’s more than good enough for us to get to this prop on Saturday night. Siva averages 9.9 points per game this season, but we think that he is going to be in for a good one when push comes to shove. Since the last game of the regular season, the senior has scored at least 11 points in five of his nine games. Make it six out of 10 in this one. Peyton Siva Over 10.5 Points (-125)

Chane Behanan Total Rebounds Over/Under 6.5: Behanan is Louisville’s leading rebounder, and he did have eight boards against the Dookies last weekend, but we have a real question as to what his role really is on this team right now for Head Coach Rick Pitino. For much of the regular season, Behanan ultimately played in at least 25-30 minutes every night. Here in the postseason, his numbers have slid just a bit because his minutes have slid just a bit. We aren’t so sure that Behanan is going to be on the court for more than perhaps 20 minutes, if even that in this game, and if that turns out to be the case, especially in a game where the tempo and the rebounding opportunities should be lower, Behanan probably won’t be reaching this rebounding total. Chane Behanan Under 6.5 Rebounds (-110)

Wichita State Shockers vs. Louisville Cardinals Prop Card @ Bovada Sportsbook (as of 4/5/13):
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Carl Hall Over 11.5 Points -130
Carl Hall Under 11.5 Points -110

Carl Hall Over 6.5 Rebounds -115
Carl Hall Under 6.5 Rebounds -125

Carl Hall Over 17.5 Points + Rebounds -120
Carl Hall Under 17.5 Points + Rebounds -120

Cleanthony Early Over 12.5 Points -120
Cleanthony Early Under 12.5 Points -120

Cleanthony Early Over 5.5 Rebounds -135
Cleanthony Early Under 5.5 Rebounds -105

Cleanthony Early Over 0.5 3-Point Shots Made -200
Cleanthony Early Under 0.5 3-Point Shots Made +150

Malcolm Armstead Over 11.5 Points -130
Malcolm Armstead Under 11.5 Points -110

Malcolm Armstead Over 4 Assists -130
Malcolm Armstead Under 4 Assists -110

Malcolm Armstead Over 15.5 Points + Assists -130
Malcolm Armstead Under 15.5 Points + Assists -110

Malcolm Armstead Over 1.5 3-Point Shots Made -150
Malcolm Armstead Under 1.5 3-Point Shots Made +110

Ron Baker Over 8.5 Points -120
Ron Baker Under 8.5 Points -120

Ron Baker Over 1.5 3-Point Shots Made -130
Ron Baker Under 1.5 3-Point Shots Made -110

Russ Smith Over 19.5 Points -125
Russ Smith Under 19.5 Points -115

Russ Smith Over 1.5 3-Point Shots Made -130
Russ Smith Under 1.5 3-Point Shots Made -110

Russ Smith Over 5.5 Assists + Rebounds -120
Russ Smith Under 5.5 Assists + Rebounds -120

Russ Smith Over 6.5 Free Throws Made -120
Russ Smith Under 6.5 Free Throws Made -120

Gorgui Dieng Over 10.5 Points -125
Gorgui Dieng Under 10.5 Points -115

Gorgui Dieng Over 9.5 Rebounds -130
Gorgui Dieng Under 9.5 Rebounds -110

Gorgui Dieng Over 2.5 Blocks -115
Gorgui Dieng Under 2.5 Blocks -125

Gorgui Dieng Over 23.5 Points + Rebounds + Blocks -130
Gorgui Dieng Under 23.5 Points + Rebounds + Blocks -110

Peyton Siva Over 10.5 Points -125
Peyton Siva Under 10.5 Points -115

Peyton Siva Over 5.5 Assists -130
Peyton Siva Under 5.5 Assists -110

Peyton Siva Over 16.5 Points + Assists -130
Peyton Siva Under 16.5 Points + Assists -110

Peyton Siva Over 0.5 3-Point Shots Made -150
Peyton Siva Under 0.5 3-Point Shots Made +110

Peyton Siva Over 2.5 Free Throws Made -120
Peyton Siva Under 2.5 Free Throws Made -120

Chane Behanan Over 8.5 Points -120
Chane Behanan Under 8.5 Points -120

Chane Behanan Over 6.5 Rebounds -130
Chane Behanan Under 6.5 Rebounds -110

Luke Hancock Over 7.5 Points -130
Luke Hancock Under 7.5 Points -110

Luke Hancock Over 1.5 3-Point Shots Made -120
Luke Hancock Under 1.5 3-Point Shots Made -120

David is known for playing Goliath early in the NCAA Tournament, but here in the 2013 Final Four in Atlanta, we are seeing a very similar matchup once again. We’re breaking down the Final Four game lines for the Wichita State Shockers and the Louisville Cardinals, as they take on one another with a spot in the National Championship Game up for grabs on Saturday night.

March Madness: Wichita State Shockers vs. Louisville Cardinals
Wichita State vs. Louisville Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA
Wichita State vs. Louisville Date/Time: Saturday, April 6th, 6:09 p.m. (ET)
2013 March Madness On TV: CBS

Key #1: Louisville cannot underestimate Wichita State’s abilities on the glass
This is what really got the Ohio State Buckeyes in a heck of a lot of trouble in the Elite Eight. OSU just had no clue how to deal with the bigs for Wichita State. It’s not that any one man really made a huge impact on the glass for the Shockers. They just rebounded the basketball as a team. The fact that they were able to go rebound for rebound with the Buckeyes, one of the best rebounding teams in America was a huge surprise to most. However, we really shouldn’t be surprised all that much. The Shockers not only ended up level on the glass against Ohio State, but they also went +2 in rebounding margin against another Big East team, the Pitt Panthers in the opening round of the tourney. Wichita State very quietly ranks 26th in the nation in rebounds per game (38.4) and seventh in rebounds against (26.1), and if you thought this was a product of a cupcake schedule, you can now put that theory to rest.

Final Four Odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook
#9 Wichita State Shockers +10.5
#1 Louisville Cardinals -10.5
Over/Under 132.5
Click Here to Bet Your Final Four Picks!

Key #2: The Shockers cannot let Louisville go on “that run” to put the game away at any point
If we have one major knock on the Shockers right now, it is that they just didn’t manage to put away that Ohio State team when they had the chance. The Buckeyes went on that huge run and nearly got rid of a 20-point deficit in the second half down the stretch. We have seen Louisville go on runs like that through this entire tournament. Talking about that game against the North Carolina A&T Aggies is silly, but in the rest of these games, we can plainly see when the Cardinals took over. They went on a 24-12 run to end the first half to dismiss any chances the Colorado State Rams had of an upset, they were up 16 within the first five minutes of the game against the Oregon Ducks to put that one essentially away, and after the gruesome injury to G Kevin Ware, we saw the Cardinals take a 42-42 game and make it a 6-48 game in a span of just about nine minutes. We know that Louisville will go on its spurts. Runs of 10-2 will happen, and they’re going to happen against any team in America. Wichita State just has to avoid that knockout blow, the 20-4 run over a span of six minutes that it just wouldn’t recover from.

Key #3: The three ball has to be the great equalizer for Wichita State
The Shockers get a bad rap because they don’t shoot the three-point shot all that well. They were a woeful 2-of-20 from long range in their opening game against Pittsburgh, but since that point, they have figured out how to shoot the ball tremendously more efficiently, knocking down at least 40% of its shots from beyond the arc in each of the last three games. This is sort of what made the VCU Rams dangerous a few years ago on their run to the Final Four. They weren’t a particularly great shooting team, but they all of a sudden caught fire in the dance, parlayed those turnovers that they force into open shots, and they knocked them down from the outside. Wichita State doesn’t have the athletes to win this game with talent alone. It is clear that this squad has to do something special and hit seemingly every big time shot from downtown to get crowd on its side in Atlanta.

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The 2013 NIT Schedule is set to go, and here at Bankroll Sports, we will be analyzing the NIT betting lines, as well as providing you with a list of all of the top NIT games on TV for 2013. Be sure to keep this page locked into your favorites, as you’ll find NIT game recaps and all of the NIT scores for this great tournament, from the first tip on Tuesday night to the end of the Final Four at Madison Square Garden!

NIT Finals: NIT Final on TV for Thursday, April 4th (4/4/13)
#3 Iowa vs. #2 Baylor

If we were to go back and re-bracket the NCAA Tournament right now, it is clear that Baylor and Iowa would have been in the field of 68. We wouldn’t always be able to say that throughout history, but we do think that these are the two most talented teams that aren’t dancing in the nation. Iowa has figured out how to step up its offensive game just enough, pairing it with a defense that has held eight straight foes to 64 points or fewer. The Hawkeyes have 10 straight covers to their credit, and they are now 23-6 ATS in their last 29 games. Baylor has covered three of its four games here in the NIT, and it has an offense that is averaging 89.0 points per game in the postseason. This is the final game in the career of G Pierre Jackson, and it is clear that either he or G Roy-Devyn Marble will ultimately be the MVP of the NIT when push comes to shove.

NIT Final Four: Live NIT Games For Tuesday, April 2nd (4/2/13)
#3 BYU 70 vs. #2 Baylor 76
#3 Iowa 71 vs. #2 Maryland 60

In the opening game of the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden, Baylor was able to fend off a BYU team that just couldn’t figure out how to knock down a shot from the outside. G Matt Carlino had five triples, but he took 14 attempts from long range, and the rest of the team went 0-of-6 from downtown. Meanwhile, Baylor scored 73 points in spite of the fact that the team only shot 43.3 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from long range. G Pierre Jackson scored 24 points and had 10 assists, marking the third straight game that he directly had his hands involved in at least 40 Baylor points.

Maryland tried to give Iowa everything that it could, but in the end, the ACC reps didn’t have the horses to run with the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes were +10 in the turnover category, and that really made all the difference in the world. The Terps only got nine points out of G Dez Wells for the game, and that was never going to cut it. G Roy-Devyn Marble scored 21, and he ws one of the three on the team that scored at least 10 points, as Iowa marches onto the NIT Final on Thursday.

NIT Quarterfinals Bracket: Live NIT Games For Wednesday, March 27th (3/27/13)
#3 Iowa 75 @ #1 Virginia 64
#3 BYU 79 @ #1 Southern Miss 62
#4 Providence 68 @ #2 Baylor 79

It was a night that the top seeds of the NIT would soon like to forget. Virginia was a dominating home team all season long, but it just didn’t have the offense to ultimately be able to keep up with G Roy-Devyn Marble and the Hawkeyes. Southern Miss meanwhile, didn’t beat an RPI Top 50 team in the regular season all year long outside of Middle Tennessee State, and now, it has paid the price against another team of very similar stature. Most didn’t really believe that the Cougars were going to be able to go on the across halfway across the country in tiny Hattiesburg and post a victory, but they were able to get the job done and knock off what proved to be a stingy Conference USA team. The only game where the chalk held up in the whole third round of this tournament was when Baylor beat Providence. The Friars had a fantastic end of the season, but they really proved that the only reason they were playing in this deep into the NIT is because of their easy schedule. They were overmatched from the get go against a Baylor team that continues to be the biggest offensive force in this entire tournament. G Pierre Jackson had one of his biggest games of the year in the win, as he scored 20 points and had 13 assists.

NIT Quarterfinals Bracket: Live NIT Games For Tuesday, March 26th (3/26/13)
#2 Maryland 58 @ #1 Alabama 57

Maryland became the first road team to win a game in over a week here in the NIT, as it knocked off the Crimson Tide by a single point. The game could have easily swung the other way if not for two huge plays by the Maryland defense. C Alex Len capped his 15 points and 13 boards with his fifth block of the game with just a few seconds left, and the defense came up big with one more hold on the final possession of the game to earn the victory. The Terrapins also hit 50% of their shots from the field and went 7-of-15 from beyond the arc. Alabama became just the second No. 1 seed to bow out of the NIT and the first that did so playing on its home court.

Second Round NIT Bracket: Live NIT Games For Monday, March 25th (3/25/13)
#8 Robert Morris 68 @ #4 Providence 77
#7 Mercer 71 @ #3 BYU 90
#5 Louisiana Tech 52 @ #1 Southern Miss 63

For a postseason that has been marred with low scoring games all across the board, it is remarkable to think that BYU now has 90 points in both of its first two games here in the NIT. The Cougs never had a problem getting past Mercer on Monday, as G Tyler Haws and F Brandon Davies went off once again, putting up 50 points between them. Southern Miss dismissed Louisiana Tech later in the night with a 63-52 defensive struggle, while in the opening game on Monday night, Robert Morris proved that it didn’t quite have enough in the tank to take down Providence. The Friars were the beneficiaries of some great scheduling, as they took on Robby Mo instead of Kentucky thanks to the fact that Rupp Arena was booked for the NCAA Tournament. Providence flexed its muscles in the second half after the first half was a 34-34 slug fest that appeared that it could have gone either way.

Second Round NIT Bracket: Live NIT Games For Sunday, March 24th (3/24/13)
#5 St. John’s 50 @ #1 Virginia 68

Now these are the Johnnies that we expected to show up here in the NIT. St. John’s really never had all that much of a chance to get the job done in this one, as it looked like a team full of zombies out there against the Cavaliers. UVA’s half-court defense was dominating all day long, and as a result, the Cavs notched their 14th cover of the season here at John Paul Jones Arena. There is no doubt that Virginia was the better of the two teams, and the 18 points for G Justin Anderson marked one of the best games of his entire career in a huge spot.

Second Round NIT Bracket: Live NIT Games For Saturday, March 23rd (3/23/13)
#4 Stanford 54 @ #1 Alabama 66

Stifling defense was the name of the game for the Crimson Tide on Saturday afternoon. The team held Stanford down to just 18-of-58 shooting (31.0%) for the night, and the Cardinal only mustered a total of 24 points from inside the arc over the course of the whole night. That certainly wasn’t going to cut it against an Alabama team that did a nice job cutting into the lane all night long, even against the Cardinal bigs.

Second Round NIT Bracket: Live NIT Games For Friday, March 22nd (3/22/13)
#3 Arizona State 86 @ #2 Baylor 89
#7 Stony Brook 63 @ #3 Iowa 75

Baylor’s offense has now scored over 200 points in two games here in the NIT. The Bears got 26 points and 16 assists from G Pierre Jackson in this one, and G Brady Heslip knocked down another four shots from beyond the arc to get hosting Baylor past Arizona State in a gritty game that could have gone either way. Meanwhile, G Roy-Devyn Marble had himself another nice night for Iowa, as he scored 28 points and dished out five assists in a win over Stony Brook. The Hawkeyes were kept close for a half of basketball, but as we have been seeing over the course of the second round of this tournament, teams that stay close in the first half on the road aren’t necessarily figuring out how to remain close in the second half. The Seawolves were the latest victims.

Second Round NIT Bracket: Live NIT Games For Thursday, March 21st (3/21/13)
#3 Denver 52 @ #2 Maryland 62

It was never really all that much of a game between the Terps and the Pioneers, as the visitors looked just flat out tired from the get go. Denver had to be exhausted for this game, having to tip this one off less the 45 hours after their last win finished up in the first round of this tournament, especially after having been made to travel across the country to College Park. It wasn’t the prettiest offensive game in the world for the Terrapins, but they were able to ultimately get the job done without all that much in the way of difficulty.

First Round NIT Bracket: Live NIT Games For Wednesday, March 20th (3/20/13)
#6 Indiana State 52 @ #3 Iowa 68
#7 Stony Brook 71 @ #2 Massachusetts 58
#5 Charlotte 66 @ #4 Providence 75
#7 Mercer 75 @ #2 Tennessee 67
#7 Long Beach State 66 @ #2 Baylor 112
#8 Charleston Southern 71 @ #1 Southern Miss 78
#6 Detroit 68 @ #3 Arizona State 83

Every year we see some more of these first round surprises when teams feel like they got snubbed out of the NCAA Tournament. Stony Brook is a team that has gained a lot of postseason experience over the last few years, and the Seawolves had their day when they went to Amherst and knocked off the Minutemen on Wednesday night. Mercer was able to go on the road and take a scalp of the Volunteers, who really looked disinterested over the course of the whole opening game of the NIT. Meanwhile, Southern Miss, who was arguably one of the first two or three teams left out of the NCAA Tournament, badly looked out of sorts against a bad Charleston Southern team. The Golden Eagles got the job done to advance, but they were certainly not impressive.

More impressive were the Hawkeyes from Iowa, who put together a show against Indiana State in the second half. Providence also held serve at home thanks to 25 points from G Bryce Cotton to take care of the Charlotte 49ers. Arizona State ran out to a huge first half lead to dismiss Detroit in its game in Tuscon. The most impressive team though, was clearly Baylor. The Bears jumped out to a 59-34 lead against Long Beach State in the first half, and they came out with the same sense of gusto in the second half, outscoring the 49ers 53-32 to ultimately win 112-66.

First Round NIT Bracket: NIT Games On TV For Tuesday, March 19th (3/19/13)
#7 Niagara 70 @ #2 Maryland 86
#5 St. John’s 63 @ #4 Saint Joseph’s 61
#5 Louisiana Tech 71 @ #4 Florida State 66
#1 Kentucky 57 @ #8 Robert Morris 59
#8 Northeastern 43 @ #1 Alabama 62
#8 Norfolk State 56 @ #1 Virginia 67
#6 Ohio 57 @ #3 Denver 61
#6 Washington 79 @ #3 BYU 90
#5 Stephen F. Austin 57 @ #4 Stanford 58

The story of the first night of the NIT is how Robert Morris had its day in the sun. The Colonials not only hosted the defending national champs, but they won the game and against Kentucky and truly had their biggest day ever in their program’s history. That wasn’t nearly the only upset on the day, though. A disappointing Florida State team finished up its season in terrible fashion, losing to Louisiana Tech, who ultimately might be set to go on a run after its miserable end to the regular season. St. John’s also woke up and won its first game after five straight losses, sending St. Joe’s packing for the rest of the year.

The top seeds that got the chance to host games really didn’t have much in the way of problems. Virginia struggled for a bit in the first half against Norfolk State before ultimately putting the Spartans away. Alabama had similar problems with Northeast before turning on the jets and avoiding embarrassment in Tuscaloosa. Maryland had a huge score half, scoring 51 points to dispose of Niagara, the regular season MAAC champs.

The best games of the first night of the NIT all came in the nightcaps. Denver took the lead with just 21 seconds left in the game and ultimately set aside a very good Ohio team that nearly made it to the NCAA Tournament. BYU and Washington battled it out tooth and nail over the course of the first 25-30 mintues or so, but in the end, G Tyler Haws scored 37 points and helped the Cougs to a 90-79 triumph. Stephen F. Austin got a chance to play its game against Stanford for the full 40 minutes, but in the end, the Lumberjacks came up a point short at Maples Pavilion.

The third ticket to the Final Four will be punched on Sunday afternoon in Arlington, where the #4 Michigan Wolverines are going to hope to find some more magic when they take on the #3 Florida Gators, who are going to be playing in their most difficult game of the tourney to date. Join us for our Elite Eight predictions and our March Madness picks for Florida vs. Michigan in the South Region Final.

March Madness: Michigan Wolverines vs. Florida Gators
Michigan vs. Florida Location: Dallas Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, TX
Michigan vs. Florida Date/Time: Sunday, March 31st, 2:20 p.m. ET
March Madness Television Coverage: CBS

Key #1: Trey Burke has to continue to work his magic from the outside
For the entire first half, Burke was shut down against the Kansas Jayhawks on Friday night. He had absolutely nothing going his way, and he and his Wolverines seemed destined to be headed out on the next flight back to Ann Arbor. However, Burke really turned it around in the second half and ultimately overtime, scoring 23 points. He knocked down a three-point shot that likely kept the game going with just over a minute left in the game, and then he turned around with just a few seconds left in regulation and hit the three-pointer from tremendously long range that sent the maize and blue into a frenzy. Michigan had no business whatsoever knocking off the Jayhawks, and it is going to have to keep its feet on the ground and not get too high. Burke is the veteran of this bunch, though he is only a sophomore, and he really is the difference maker in this game for the Wolverines.

Michigan vs. Florida Odds at Diamond Sportsbook
#4 Michigan Wolverines +2.5
#3 Florida Gators -2.5
Over/Under 131
Click Here to Bet Your Elite 8 Picks!

Key #2: Florida has to get its bearings right out of the blocks
The Gators have ultimately put away all three of the teams that they have faced thus far in the tournament, but they really haven’t been particularly challenged by the caliber of team that they have faced. Now, instead of facing a No. 11, No. 14, or No. 15 seed, Florida is taking on a team that was ranked No. 1 in the country once upon a time. The Gators have had a tough time getting into the swing of games early, especially against Florida Gulf Coast and Northwestern State. Of course, Michigan got off to a terrible start against Kansas as well on Friday night, and that leaves a big question for concern as well. However, we saw what the Wolverines could do in the clutch against one of the best teams in America, and if Florida falls behind perhaps by double digits early on, there is a good chance that Michigan will be able to jump on it and force the SEC reps into some real problems.

Key #3: The Gators can’t rely upon their rebounding to make up for poor shooting
Here’s a situation where the stats really don’t tell the whole story. If you look at what the Gators have done shooting the ball in this tournament, you’d be relatively impressed. They are hitting a very respectable 46.4 percent from the floor for the dance, and they are knocking down 37.5 percent of their three-point shots. The numbers aren’t great, but they aren’t terrible either. What you’re not seeing are how many of those made field goals are coming after grabbing offensive rebounds. Florida picked up 28 offensive boards against Northwestern State and Florida Gulf Coast combined, and that’s where a lot of the easy buckets are coming from. Against Minnesota, what we saw this team do was slow things down and take the ball to the rack quite a bit, and the Gators ultimately won that game from the charity stripe. Michigan isn’t going to get dominated on the glass as Florida Gulf Coast and Northwestern State did previously, so Florida is going to need to make a lot more of its mid-range jumpers and outside shots to move on to the Final Four.

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SportBet Sportsbook‘s NCAA basketball betting odds were always considered to be tight here in the Midwest Bracket. Everyone figured that the top seeds in this region had themselves a heck of a lot of problems against some other great teams, but alas, this was the one bracket where the chalk really held up. We’re down to just two teams, and two powerhouses at that, and today, we’re going to take one last look at the Final Four odds for the Louisville Cardinals and the Duke Blue Devils.

#1 Louisville Cardinals (-180) – The time is clearly here for the Cardinals to flex their muscles. They are overwhelmingly considered the most talented team left in the dance, as they are the only No. 1 seed that lived to make it here to the Elite Eight. G Russ Smith has been playing out of this world, and the defense, save for a few stretches against Oregon on Friday, has been out of this world. The Cardinals though, haven’t played much in the way of great teams in the dance, knowing that the toughest game that it has faced to date came against the eighth seeded Colorado State Rams, a game that really wasn’t all that close. The rest of the way though, it is destined to be nothing but big boys and heavy hitters, and this is where the rubber is going to meet the road. Head Coach Rick Pitino knows that this could be the best shot that he has of getting back to the Final Four in the near future, as so many of the players on the court are going to be leaving the school via graduation or for the NBA at the end of the season.

#2 Duke Blue Devils (+170) – There is a certain swagger about the Blue Devils that we like right now. The ACC reps were disrespected by the Selection Committee this season and were made to be No. 2 seeds instead of the top seed that they probably deserved. Duke probably has had the toughest path to reach the Elite Eight of any of the teams that are still dancing at this point. Not only was a game against Creighton very difficult on paper, but the very next game against Michigan State proved to be a heck of a battle. Beating the Spartans was one thing. However, the Dookies blew the Spartans out of the water and were never really in any serious danger of losing the game. We love watching G Seth Curry step back and let the rock fly without hesitation, and the way that F Mason Plumlee throws his body around with wreckless abandon is a pleasure as well. These are the things that didn’t exist for last year’s Blue Devils, which were knocked out of the first round of the dance by the lowly little No. 15 Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Coach K and the gang are just one win away from the greatness that is the Final Four, and we have a tough time believing that they can’t beat any team in the nation that comes their way with the way that they are playing.

2013 Midwest Region Odds @ SportBet Sportsbook (as of 3/30/13):
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Louisville Cardinals (-3.5) -180
Duke Blue Devils (+3.5) +170

The Duke Blue Devils have literally been going through a Murderer’s Row of teams to get here to the Elite Eight on Sunday afternoon in the Midwest Region. Now, they have to take on the top overall seed in the dance, the Louisville Cardinals on the Elite Eight odds. Check out the keys to the Louisville vs. Duke matchup, as well as the March Madness odds for what should be a great game.

March Madness: Duke Blue Devils vs. Louisville Cardinals
Duke vs. Louisville Location: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
Duke vs. Louisville Date/Time: Sunday, March 31st, 2:10 p.m. (ET)
2013 March Madness On TV: CBS

Key #1: Gorgui Dieng has to be a difference maker
Earlier this season, the Blue Devils and the Cardinals met in the Bahamas, and the end result was a victory for the Dookies. However, in that game, Dieng was on the sidelines out injured. This is where a real difference could be made. Though Louisville did win the rebounding battle that day, there wasn’t much in the way of resistance to F Mason Plumlee. The big man scored 16 points and had seven boards, and included in there were three huge offensive rebounds. Dieng has blocked 16 shots in his last seven games, many of which have come against top flight competition. The offensive numbers definitely don’t have to be there for the big man. Defensively though, Dieng has to block some shots and alter some others to flip the tide in favor of the No. 1 overall seed in this tournament.

Elite Eight Odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook
#2 Duke Blue Devils +3.5
#1 Louisville Cardinals -3.5
Over/Under 137
Click Here to Bet Your Elite Eight Picks!

Key #2: The Cardinals have to get back to playing “Louisville Defense”
We heard Head Coach Rick Pitino at halftime of the game against the Oregon Ducks on Friday night mention that his team needed to get back to playing “Louisville defense.” The team really didn’t listen all that well, as it allowed 38 points in the second half of the game against the Ducks and were pushed right down to the wire in the game as a result. It’s clear what Pitino means. He has to get his team playing better ball in half-court sets, and there has to be more trapping and more full-court pressuring of the basketball to force more turnovers. We saw this team set the NCAA Tournament record for steals in a game back in the second round against the North Carolina A&T Aggies, and yet against Oregon, a No. 12 seed, the Cardinals only managed seven steals and really only won the game because they shot 53.8 percent from the floor. It’s clear that “Louisville defense” has to get back in the saddle against the Blue Devils if there is going to be another waltz into the Final Four for one of the proudest programs in the country.

Key #3: Seth Curry has to out-Russ Smith Russ Smith
You’re reading that properly. Curry has to figure out how to do his own impersonation of Smith and do it better than the Louisville guard. At times, Smith literally is off the chain. He scored 31 points in the win against Oregon on Friday night, and he has now averaged 27.0 points per game here in the dance. When Smith gets going, no one is going to be able to stop him. Curry looked a little bit like that on Friday as well against a very good Michigan State Spartans outfit. The senior knocked down six of his first seven three-point field goal attempts and finished the game with 29 points. It’s not necessarily a matter of getting the points that will make the difference in this game. The player that makes the biggest shots in the biggest moments is going to be the one that leads his team to Atlanta for the Final Four.

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Over at SportBet Sportsbook, you’ll find all of the odds to win the South Region and all of the brackets in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. This is one of the most stacked brackets that we have ever seen in the dance, and we know that it is going to be a tough one to handicap, so join us for our South Bracket predictions for March Madness and the NCAA Tournament, complete with each team’s odds to make it to the Final Four.

#3 Florida Gators (-150) – Florida truly has played no one on the road to the Elite Eight, but that hasn’t stopped it from being the overwhelming favorite for this entire tournament to make it to the Final Four. Now, it’s just down to a matter of one game for the right to go to Atlanta, where the team would surely have a huge following if it were to get that far. The Gators have dominated on the glass, and they have had two very strong shooting games from long range out of three. There really have been no tremendous standout players, though that’s the way that Head Coach Billy Donovan plans it. This is a veteran squad, led by the likes of G Scottie Wilbekin and F Erik Murphy, though this is a solid eight-man rotation chock full of players that are going to be capable of doing massive damage. If Florida gets to the Final Four, it is going to be a tremendously dangerous team to watch out for.

#4 Michigan Wolverines (+140) – There is no team of those that are left standing here in the Elite Eight that dodged death better than the Wolverines. They were literally already written off against the top seed in the South, the Kansas Jayhawks, the Gators were already busy ironing their away jerseys for the game. Instead, UF only needs to continue wearing the home whites, as it now has a date with the fourth seeded Wolverines instead. Michigan has gotten tremendous contributions from its starters this entire tournament, and in that win against the Jayhawks, all five of the starters logged at least 10 points. C Mitch McGary is the man that has really had a coming out party here in the NCAA Tournament, as he has had back to back tremendous games to help bring the Big Blue Nation to its first Elite Eight since 1994. It would be fitting for this team to get to the Final Four, as this is a squad that has been drawing comparisons all season long to the Fab Five that brought this team to greatness in the early 1990s.

2013 South Region Odds @ SportBet Sportsbook (as of 3/31/13):
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Florida Gators (-2.5) -150
Michigan Wolverines (+2.5) +140