The top overall seed and the favorites on the NCAA Tournament odds, the Kentucky Wildcats, are hoping to be the only team in the land to repeat as a Final Four team this year when they take on the Baylor Bears on Sunday in the South Region finale.

2012 Elite 8 Matchup: #3 Baylor Bears vs. #1 Kentucky Wildcats
South Region Location: Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA
Elite 8 Date/Time: Sunday, March 25th, 2:20 p.m.
Baylor vs. Kentucky Television Coverage: CBS

Key #1: Baylor has to prove that its talent is as good as Kentucky’s
Normally speaking, the Wildcats run into teams that perhaps have one or two players that can keep up with some of the ridiculous talent that they have to offer. In this case though, there are a slew of players with NBA potential for Baylor, and this is a squad that really can run with the Cats for the full 40 minutes. Brady Heslip has been on fire from downtown. Pierre Jackson has been a monster of a point guard, both as a distributor and as a shoot. Both Perry Jones III and Quincy Acy can jump out of the building and get rebounds with the best in the biz as well. That being said, these Bears haven’t exactly had the roughest road to get here to the Elite 8, and the big knock against them this year is that they haven’t been able to beat the big time teams. There are two losses to the Kansas Jayhawks (though there is a win as well from the Big XII Tournament) and three to the Missouri Tigers. This Kentucky team is certainly just as good and likely better than both. It should be interesting to say the least.

Elite 8 Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Baylor Bears +7.5
Kentucky Wildcats -7.5
Click Here to Bet Your Elite 8 Picks!

Key #2: Kentucky’s defense has to avoid giving up those big time runs
We saw both the Iowa State Cyclones and the Indiana Hoosiers figure out how to put up huge gobs of points on the Wildcats, and it is starting to feel like this might be the demise of this team at some point here in this tourney. The defense for UK just doesn’t seem to match the talent of the offense, and guys like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Anthony Davis, and Terrence Jones shouldn’t be allowing nine offensive rebounds and a slew of second chance points to a team like the Hoosiers, who only have really two legitimate rebounders on their team. This is where the Bears can really capitalize, as they are a team that feeds off of momentum. We’ve seen it a lot, and we might see it again, and if that turns out to be the case, we are warning the Big Blue Nation that its team could be in a lot of trouble. Even though Baylor is a No. 3 seed, it is going to be playing this one like it is a No. 16 going against the Wildcats, and the team just is not going to give up, and it won’t stop believing during this whole 40 minutes.

Key #3: The Baylor guards have to frustrate Marquis Teague
When we did our Sweet 16 breakdown for the Wildcats, we said that Teague had to be a big time point guard and make good decisions with the basketball. Considering how many possessions there were in the game, the fact that he only coughed it up twice was definitely a good sign. That being said, this is a Baylor team that has quick hands and loves to get into passing lanes. We hate to keep dogging on Teague, but he is still the weakest link on this otherwise absolutely outstanding club. The Bears are averaging just under eight steals per game this year, and well over two thirds of those thefts are coming via the guards that are getting the opponents into trouble. Baylor can be a stingy team, and you can bet that it is going to turn up the pressure as high as it can for the No. 1 team in the country on Sunday.

Click Here to get the best March Madness picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our NCAA Tournament picks and the Elite 8 picks for the rest of the NCAA Tournament game odds.

Two of the most popular choices to beat the March Madness odds are going to square off on Sunday afternoon in what should be a remarkable bout on the Elite 8 odds between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Kansas Jayhawks.

2012 Elite 8 Matchup: #2 Kansas Jayhawks vs. #1 North Carolina Tar Heels
Midwest Region Location: Scottrade Arena, St. Louis, MO
Elite 8 Date/Time: Sunday, March 23rd, 5:00 p.m.
Kansas vs. North Carolina Television Coverage: CBS

Key #1: UNC has to get over this certain home court disadvantage
The Tar Heels are essentially facing their worst fear in this one. They are taking on the Jayhawks in St. Louis, a city that is traditionally known for its roots in the Big XII, not the ACC. There will be plenty of Carolina Blue in the stands, but that doesn’t mean that the majority still won’t be pulling for Kansas. We have seen the Heels absolutely fall apart in a few games this year that either were true road games or were de facto road games, such as the horrible five touchdown loss to the Florida State Seminoles and the early season upset against the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels. In games like those, the crowd was able to really get the best of the Heels, and without any sort of leadership with experience running the show out of the point guard spot, it is going to be up to the rest of this team to maintain its composure if it wants to go to the Bayou for the Final Four.

Elite 8 Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Kansas Jayhawks -2
North Carolina Tar Heels +2
Click Here to Bet Your Elite 8 Picks!

Key #2: Tyshawn Taylor needs to get his head back in the game
Taylor has now had three straight lackluster games here in the tourney, and even though he averaged 16.8 points per game this season, he now has three straight games with just 10 points or fewer. He shot a woeful 0-of-6 from beyond the arc in the win over the NC State Wolfpack on Friday night, and he was a big part of why the team shot 1-of-14 from downtown as a unit. Needless to say, that isn’t going to cut it, and if Taylor is really going to step it up and be the man to lead this team as he was in the regular season, he has to get his stroke back. This was a 49.2 percent shooter and a 41.6 percent three-point shooter during the season, and he really has no excuse for jitters any longer after being in the dance last year as a freshman. Taylor just cannot go MIA in this one, though we know that he is going to have some pain in the neck guards that are very athletic guarding him.

Key #3: North Carolina has to get an edge on the boards and make it count
It seems likely that Kendall Marshall is going to be missing out on this one again, though obviously, you are going to want to check your injury report before betting this one if you are playing the Elite 8 odds on game day. That being said, just take a look at the rebounding numbers for North Carolina on Friday night with its win over the Ohio Bobcats. Tyler Zeller had 22 boards by himself, while the whole Ohio team only had 26 rebounds. John Henson and Reggie Bullock both ripped down 10 boards apiece, while Harrison Barnes had seven. We just don’t understand how a team this talented won the rebounding battle 56-26 and still had to play in overtime and arguably should have been beaten by a No. 13 seed that was out of one of the worst conferences in America. Jeff Withey and Thomas Robinson aren’t going to let matters be this easy for the Tar Heels on Sunday, and that might make the difference. If UNC does get the edge though, it has to take advantage of its second chance opportunities and to get the ball up the court in transition in a hurry.

Click Here to get the best March Madness picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our NCAA Tournament picks and the Elite 8 picks for the rest of the NCAA Tournament game odds.

Bovada Sportsbook has another great set of NCAA Tournament props available for you to bet on for all of the big games of the day! Check out some of the top props on the board, as well as a list of Elite 8 props for you to sink your teeth into!

Total Three Point Shots Made By Kenny Boynton Over 2.5
The time is here for Boynton to really step up and have a great game. He has been wildly inconsistent in this tourney, but he hasn’t been afraid to jack up the three point shot when he has the chance to either. Remember that this junior knocked down 108 triples on the season, and he shot 41.1 percent from downtown. Sure, things have been rough for the most part in the tourney, and we know that the Louisville defense is going to be stifling to say the least, but in the end, we think that all of the penetration and kicking out to the perimeter is going to give Boynton all of the opportunities in the world to get to these three made triples.

Total Points and Rebounds for Patric Young Under 16.5
In all likelihood, Young is going to draw Gorgui Dieng in this game, and if that turns out to be his defensive assignment, there had better be a heck of a lot of rebounds that this forward gets if he wants to reach this number. As it is, Young only had 10.2 points and 6.4 boards per game this year, and we have to remember that he hasn’t had the greatest games here in the dance either. Sure, he was able to go off for 21 and nine against the Kentucky Wildcats a few weeks ago, but he also has had a total of just 26 points and rebounds combined in the last two games. Dieng is going to be too tough of a draw for Young to get his stats on in this one.

Total Free Throw Shots Made By Peyton Siva Under 2.5
This is a prop that just doesn’t make all that much sense to us. Siva only averages getting to the charity stripe 3.2 times per game, and though he was a 73.0 percent foul shooter this year, that number is in the high 60s for his career. So, what needs to happen here to beat us is that Siva needs to get to the foul line a lot more often than he normally does, and he needs to hit at least one more from the line than he normally does to beat us. Laying -150 in this case just doesn’t seem like it is that unrealistic to do for a man that only made a grand total of 84 free throws on the season.

Two of the top teams in the whole NCAA Tournament are going to square off on Thursday night in Beantown, and we are set to make our Elite 8 predictions with our Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Syracuse Orange keys to the game.

2012 Elite 8 Matchup: #2 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. #1 Syracuse Orange
East Region Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA
Elite 8 Date/Time: Saturday, March 24th, 7:05 p.m.
Ohio State vs. Syracuse Television Coverage: CBS

Key #1: Someone is going to have to take over the role of Fab Melo in the middle
Syracuse has been able to use a strong enough defense to get the job done against some of the other teams in this tournament, knowing that none of the three opponents that the team has faced has scored more than 65 points. That being said, there really hasn’t been that dominating big man that would be able to penetrate into the teeth of that 2-3 zone like Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas will likely be able to. It is hard to see how anyone else is going to be able to anchor the middle of this defense for a lineup that is suddenly quite small, and if no one can take to the task at hand, the big boys for the Buckeyes are going to have a field day assuming that the guards take care of the basketball and can work it inside.

Elite 8 Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Ohio State Buckeyes -3
Syracuse Orange +3
Over/Under 135.5
Click Here to Bet Your Elite 8 Picks!

Key #2: Aaron Craft has to make sure the OSU offense keeps up at a good clip
It’s hard to always identify which one of the Ohio State guards is truly the point guard, but Craft is the man that has to make a lot of the big time passes to get the ball inside in the post. He did a remarkable job of this against the Cincinnati Bearcats, another team from the Big East, and another team that plays a heck of a lot like these Orange do. We know when Sullinger and Thomas get the ball in their hands, they know what they are doing with it. They shot a combined 17-of-30 from the floor and had 49 points between them, and they also had 18 boards. The key is going to be keeping them involved and getting the ball to them in the post as early as possible. If that’s the case, not only will the inside game be working, but the outside game is going to likely get involved as well when the others in the Syracuse backcourt are crashing down to help out and double team.

Key #3: Kris Joseph has to kick his game into gear
Joseph is a man that averaged shooting the ball over 10 times per game in the regular season, and he shot 42.2 percent from the floor and 34.9 percent from downtown. He is the man that is almost certainly going to have to step up and hit the big time shot down the stretch. However, the problem is that he has now had six straight games with 12 points or fewer, and all of those games are below his scoring average, which currently sits at 13.5 points per game. It is going to take senior leadership to get the job done in this one against an Ohio State team that is likely a heck of a lot more talented than the Syracuse team that is going to be on the court.

Click Here to get the best March Madness picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our NCAA Tournament picks and the Elite 8 picks for the rest of the NCAA Tournament game odds.

Either the Florida Gators or the Louisville Cardinals are going to claim the first spot in the Final Four on Saturday, and we are going to try to nail down the winner of this one with our Elite 8 picks to start the weekend.

2012 Elite 8 Matchup: #7 Florida Gators vs. #4 Louisville Cardinals
West Region Location: US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
Elite 8 Date/Time: Saturday, March 24th, 4:30 p.m.
Wisconsin vs. Louisville Television Coverage: CBS

Key #1: It’s all about the intensity
You aren’t going to find two teams that go at it on either side of the floor with the intensity that the Gators and the Cardinals bring to the table. This is the exact matchup that we were hoping to see, because Head Coaches Billy Donovan and Rick Pitino both get the most out of their players. Are these two teams amongst the most talented eight in the land? Probably not. However, there is no reason to think that either of these teams are going to back down right now. The pressure that is going to be put on both of these teams with full court pressure and the offenses that try to get up and go, and the team that wins this one very well could be the one that has the more intense runs of the two.

Elite 8 Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Florida Gators -1.5
Louisville Cardinals +1.5
Over/Under 131.5
Click Here to Bet Your Elite 8 Picks!

Key #2: Gorgui Dieng has to have a huge game
What really made the difference in Florida’s win over the Marquette Golden Eagles is that the team found a way to take the Marquette big men out of the equation. It goes without saying that the Gators are a group that love to run and do so with at least three, and usually four guards on the court. Dieng is the big man that can really do a lot on both sides of the court. You might look at the five points that Dieng had against the Michigan State Spartans and think that he had a bad game. Then look closer at the box score. He had nine boards, seven blocks, and three steals and altered a slew of what MSU tried to get done. We know what Florida does; this is a team that loves to drive the ball and kick it out to the perimeter and take three point shots if the layup or short jumper isn’t open. Dieng can change all of that when push comes to shove, and he should be able to throw his body around. If he does that and stays out of foul trouble, UF had better hope that it is hitting its outside shots without all that many difficulties, or it will be in a lot of trouble.

Key #3: It’s time for Kenny Boynton to play like a veteran
Boynton only had 11 points in the Sweet 16 against Marquette, and he has been wildly inconsistent in the postseason. He only had two points against the Kentucky Wildcats in the SEC Tournament Final, and he had just eight against the Virginia Cavaliers. That being said, he also had 20 against the Norfolk State Spartans. This is a man that averages 16.0 points per game and shoots 41.1 percent from beyond the arc. There is a lot of pressure on Boynton, though there has been a heck of a lot of production from Bradley Beal and the others. We just don’t know if that’s going to be able to keep up in the rest of this tournament. The Gators really need their leader to play like one.

Click Here to get the best March Madness picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our NCAA Tournament picks and the Elite 8 picks for the rest of the NCAA Tournament game odds.

Many think that the NC State Wolfpack are going to be the team to get the job done and become that coveted double digit seed to make it to the Elite 8. However, the Kansas Jayhawks are one of the favorites on the March Madness odds, and we know that they aren’t going to go down without a fight. Check out our Sweet 16 predictions for this big time clash!

2012 Sweet 16 Matchup: #4 NC State Wolfpack vs. #1 Kansas Jayhawks
Midwest Region Location: Scottrade Arena, St. Louis, MO
Sweet 16 Date/Time: Friday, March 23rd, 10:15 p.m.
Wisconsin vs. Kansas Television Coverage: TBS

Key #1: The Wolfpack have to play this game loose
It is tough to say that a team from the ACC has to play like it has nothing to lose, knowing that this is a side that has gone up against the likes of the North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils this year. However, what we have found over the course of the last few weeks is that NC State is really playing with a different sort of swagger about it. The team doesn’t feel like it is choking away those pivotal games that it needs to get into the dance, and though it didn’t ultimately make it to the ACC Tournament Final, it sure looked like one of the best teams in the conference. CJ Leslie has to keep his head on straight, and the team has to do whatever it can to get the ball in the hands of Scott Wood from long range. He is an assassin and a veteran, and he is the type of player that can put the whole team on his back and lead the club to a tremendous victory.

Sweet 16 Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
NC State Wolfpack +8
Kansas Jayhawks -8
Over/Under 142.5
Click Here to Bet Your Sweet 16 Picks!

Key #2: The Jayhawks need to dominate in the paint
You read that right: Dominate. This is what the Jayhawks just haven’t been doing in this tournament. There have been too many shots from the outside, and players like Jeff Withey and Thomas Robinson, though are getting their stats, just don’t seem to be anywhere near as dominating as they were at times during the Big XII campaign. This also means that the little guys have to get into the paint and do some slashing, and it almost seems like the moment has been too big for Tyshawn Taylor to withstand even though this is now his second year here in the tourney. Robinson and Withey both have double-double potential, but they are going to have to be imposing to a somewhat undersized Wolfpack outfit that might not be in the greatest of shape coming into this one to compete on the glass.

Key #3: The defensive pressure has to be there for Kansas
This more or less goes right along with the fact that the Jayhawks have to be a dominating team in the paint. Every now and again, you see this defense go to sleep. We saw it at home against the Missouri Tigers when they went on that big time run in the comeback at Allen Fieldhouse, and we saw it in spurts with Robbie Hummel and the Purdue Boilermakers. Still, this is a team that ranks in the Top 50 in basically every major defensive category, and if it is going to play like that team, it is going to take a truly remarkable shooting effort for the Jayhawks to get knocked out. Getting lazy on the defensive end of the court can, and has been this team’s downfall in the past, and we are afraid that the only way that Rock Chalk gets booted here in St. Louis, a de facto home court, is if it doesn’t have the mindset to get the job done.

Click Here to get the best March Madness picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our NCAA Tournament picks and the Sweet 16 picks for the rest of the NCAA Tournament game odds.

The South Region will send its last team to the Elite 8 on Friday night, and the Indiana Hoosiers and the Kentucky Wildcats duke it out for that spot. We’re set to make our Sweet 16 predictions for the clash in Hot ‘Lanta!

2012 Sweet 16 Matchup: #4 Indiana Hoosiers vs. #1 Kentucky Wildcats
South Region Location: Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA
Sweet 16 Date/Time: Friday, March 23rd, 9:45 p.m.
Indiana vs. Kentucky Television Coverage: CBS

Key #1: Marquis Teague has to keep up with his strong tourney
Teague is still the freshman of the bunch that is under the most pressure. He is the point guard for this team, and he is the catalyst that has to get the job done. It’s not that he has to be a big time scorer, though he clearly was with his 24 points against the Iowa State Cyclones last weekend. However, Teague has to make smart decisions and take care of the basketball, and that is what we are wondering whether an inconsistent freshman is really going to be able to do. Again, it’s important to state, so far, so good for Teague, but we know that things might not stay that way as the competition gets stronger and stronger. You can bet that the Indiana guards are going to be licking their chops at having another shot at Teague in this one.

Sweet 16 Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Indiana Hoosiers +9
Kentucky Wildcats -9
Over/Under 144
Click Here to Bet Your Sweet 16 Picks!

Key #2: Indiana has to weather the storm and keep its head above water
Remember that for as young as Kentucky is, the Hoosiers aren’t all that much more experienced. Cody Zeller is just a freshman, and there are no Final Four runs for any of these players in the past. It was remarkable to think that Christian Watford was able to get the job done and knock down the biggest shot of his career and arguably the biggest shot that a Hoosier has knocked down in a decade to beat #1 Kentucky. We know that the Wildcats are going to come out angry and looking for revenge, and there are going to be times in this game when their talent takes over and they are able to go on a run. This is where Head Coach Tom Crean has to coach the biggest game of his career. He has to make sure to keep his team grounded during every timeout period and make sure that he uses his stoppages wisely. The Wildcats are beatable when they get frustrated, but if they frustrate the Hoosiers, there is going to be no encore performance out of the boys in red.

Key #3: The Kentucky bigs have to be big
Save for perhaps the North Carolina Tar Heels, there isn’t another team in the nation that can rebound the basketball with as much talent and authority as the Wildcats can. If is very clear that if Anthony Davis, Terrence Jones, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist are all approaching the double-double line, Kentucky is going to be insanely hard to beat. This isn’t a team that takes all that many fouls, and it has to stay that way. Odds have it, a man like Davis and one like Zeller will counter each other. The question is whether Gilchrist-Kidd and Jones are going to be able to really step up and prove that they are the superior athletes in this game. If so, this could be a cakewalk for the boys in blue. If not, it might be Heartbreak Hotel in St. Louis for the Wildcats.

Click Here to get the best March Madness picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our NCAA Tournament picks and the Sweet 16 picks for the rest of the NCAA Tournament game odds.