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 nets are going to be coming down at Staples Center on Saturday night, as either the Ohio State Buckeyes or the Wichita State Shockers are going to be off to the Final Four in Atlanta. Join us for our Elite Eight predictions, as we analyze the March Madness odds for what should be a remarkable clash between David and Goliath in the West Regional Final.

March Madness: Wichita State Shockers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes
Wichita State vs. Ohio State Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Wichita State vs. Ohio State Date/Time: Friday, March 29th, 7:05 p.m. ET
March Madness Television Coverage: CBS

Key #1: Someone on Wichita State is going to have to put a body on Deshaun Thomas
Can anyone stop this guy? We’ve been talking about Ohio State for weeks now, and the man that is always in the center of the discussion is Thomas. This is a man with great range, is lanky, can score from anywhere on the court, and can play defense as well. He’s legitimately got every tool in the bag that you would ask from a college basketball player, and he hasn’t been stopped here in the dance. Thomas put up 20 against Arizona on Thursday night, and he now has 20, 22, and 24 points in his three NCAA Tournament games. Wichita State has seen a lot of great players along the way, including a potential National Player of the Year in F Kelly Olynyk. However, Olynyk scored 26 points and put up nine boards against the Shockers as well. WSU has to do a better job on Thomas than it did on Olynyk if it realistically wants to have any chance of surviving against a very athletic team.

Wichita State vs. Ohio State Odds at Diamond Sportsbook
#9 Wichita State Shockers +4.5
#2 Ohio State Buckeyes -4.5
Over/Under 130
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Key #2: See the three. Be the three.
The three-point line is always crucial in these NCAA Tournament games, and the reason that Ohio State has survived to this point is because of the long range shot. The Buckeyes would have probably been knocked out of the dance in the first weekend by Iowa State had they not knocked down nine three-point shots, including the one by G Aaron Craft that won the game essentially at the gun. Ohio State is now knocking down a whopping 50.0 percent of its three-point shots, and it is averaging over seven threes per game. That’s a far shout from where the team was for most of the season. The Buckeyes were shooting just 35% from long range prior to the dance this season. Wichita State meanwhile, has been all over the place from beyond the arc in the dance. The team went a very respectable 5-of-12 against La Salle on Thursday, and that’s about what we are expecting to see again on Saturday. However, if there is an extreme to be seen from long range, we’ve seen both ends of it with the Missouri Valley reps. Wichita State hit 14-of-28 from downtown against Gonzaga in the Round of 32, but that came on the heels of hitting just 2-of-20 against Pittsburgh in the second round of the dance. As is usually the case, whichever team can stroke the three more successfully is going to be the one to watch out for come Saturday.

Key #3: Ohio State needs to make a renewed effort defensively
Understandably, NCAA Tournament games tend to be a little odd by nature. Teams have to do things that they aren’t used to doing just to advance, games sometimes take a little while to get going, and every now and again, you see just a ton of scores in the final three minutes of the game or so as one team is trying to make a feverish comeback on the other. For Ohio State though, it is extremely odd to see a team scoring 70 points against it. During the regular season, it only happened seven times in 36 games. Now all of a sudden, all three teams here in the NCAA Tournament that it has faced have been able to get to 70. It’s a Catch-22 for sure. While we’re thrilled to see the Buckeyes do a heck of a lot better on the offensive end of the court, we don’t think that they can win a National Championship if they continue to play defense like this. They’ll need to really buckle down on Saturday against the Shockers, as the challenges are getting more and more difficult on the road to the Final Four.

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Either a team that came out of the First Four or one that has made a magical run from the Missouri Valley Conference will find their way to the Elite Eight on Thursday night, as we make our March Madness predictions for the clash between the La Salle Explorers and the Wichita State Shockers.

March Madness: La Salle Explorers vs. Wichita State Shockers
La Salle vs. Wichita State Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
La Salle vs. Wichita State Date/Time: Thursday, March 28th, 10:17 p.m. ET
March Madness Television Coverage: TBS

Key #1: Wichita State has to continue to be a strong three-point shooting team
Remember when the VCU Rams ran from the First Four to the Final Four two seasons ago? It’s not out of the question that La Salle could do the same this year, but the run seems very similar for Wichita State as well. That VCU team was a relatively average three-point shooting team that caught fire in the dance and started literally knocking down everything left and right. Now, the Shockers are doing the exact same thing. Wichita State hit 50% of its threes on Saturday when it knocked off the top seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs, and that’s a far cry from the 33.7 percent from three-point land that the team has hit for the season. This time of year, it’s all about the 3-ball, and knocking them down at that rate is clearly going to be one of the keys to get this team into the Elite Eight, and perhaps even the Final Four beyond. If the threes aren’t falling at that type of clip though, the Shockers are going to be in a heck of a lot of trouble against a very athletic team.

La Salle vs. Wichita State Odds at Diamond Sportsbook
#13 La Salle Explorers +4
#9 Wichita State Shockers -4
Over/Under 135.5
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Key #2: Someone needs to figure out how to stop Ramon Galloway
Had we looked at the keys to the game for La Salle last round against the Ole Miss Rebels, we would have said that someone needed to slow down G Marshall Henderson. Instead of doing that though, Galloway just stayed shot for shot with him for the full 40 minutes. Galloway really looks a heck of a lot like Henderson did for the Rebels for all of those games, as now, the La Salle leader is averaging 21.3 points per game in the dance in this, his senior season. With nearly 1,600 points in his collegiate career, there is no doubt that Galloway is a man that knows how to take over a game, and after hitting six threes on Sunday against Ole Miss, he can really flex his muscles as one of the best players in the tournament in this one against Wichita State.

Key #3: Wichita State can’t get killed on the offensive glass
Rebounding hasn’t been an issue for the Shockers all year long, but all of a sudden against Gonzaga on Saturday, all of that changed. Wichita State gave up a whopping 20 offensive rebounds to the Zags, the most that it had allowed in a game all season long. That isn’t going to cut it, needless to say. La Salle is actually a terrible rebounding team, as it is one of the few teams in the tourney that has allowed more rebounds per game this season (31.5) than it has picked up (31.3). The Explorers don’t have F Elias Harris or F Kelly Olynyk or any of the other bigs that Gonzaga brings to the table, so this should be a much different type of challenge for a team that is used to physically overwhelming its foes. If the Shockers can’t win the battle on the glass, particularly the battle on the defensive side of the court, they’ll be in a ton of trouble. Possessions absolutely have to be limited to one and done as much as possible for Wichita State to knock off La Salle.

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