NCAA Tournament 2009: Saturday's Elite Eight Predictions

With the Sweet Sixteen finishing up last night, we begin to look forward to the two games of Elite Eight action happening this evening.

At 4:45 PM today, three-seed Missouri will face No. 1 seed UConn in the West Region finals. Then, later tonight, three-seed Villanova will play another one seed, Pittsburgh, in the East Regional Final at 7:10.

So, without further introduction, let's get to my daily picks below. When you're finished, remember to check out my profile again Sunday morning and read tomorrow's edition of NCAA Tournament 2009 Predictions.

Tournament Record (Second Round Day Two & Sweet Sixteen)

Overall Picks: 14-2

Last Week's Picks: 7-1

Overall Spread Picks: 9-7

Last Week's Spread Picks: 6-2

WEST REGIONAL FINALS

(3) Missouri Tigers vs. (1) Connecticut Huskies

4:45 PM ET, CBS

The Tigers have been one of my picks to be a surprise team for a while now, and Thursday's spectacular 100+ point performance against highly-ranked Memphis just proves that.

Memphis, who was (at the time) ranked No. 3 in the country, was left in the dust as J. T. Tiller (23 pts) and Missouri defeated the Tigers, 101-92. It was just the third 100 points-or-more single-team score of this year's tournament.

However, UConn has probably been the most dominating team so far in the tournament. They've creamed all three opponents so far in ugly fashion; Chattanooga, Texas A&M, and then finally Purdue.

The Huskies have outscored their opponents 267-173 (nearly a 3:2 ratio), and are looking for another huge victory here against Missouri.

Missouri is definitely a good team, so they may be able to keep up a bit longer than UConn's last victim, Purdue, did, but the Tigers don't really have the firepower to overpower the Huskies in this game.

Pick: Missouri 75, UConn 84

Spread Pick: UConn (-5.5)

EAST REGIONAL FINALS

(1) Pittsburgh Panthers vs. (3) Villanova Wildcats

7:10 PM ET, CBS

So, the Eastern Regional Finals is down to this: Pittsburgh vs. Villanova. I always figured it would be this way, Villanova led by their stunning defense and Pittsburgh by their all-around depth. But no team seems to have yet shown that they are the superior, and so we may have a classic thriller on our hands tonight.

Pittsburgh comes into the game having survived three scares and advanced by a slim margin every time. First it was 16-seed ETSU, who was able to keep up with the Panthers until the final few minutes. Then it was Oklahoma State, who led the game with just three minutes left. But once again, Pittsburgh pulled it out.

And then again Thursday, Xavier held an eight-point lead on Pitt at the half before the Panthers opened up fire early in the second half and caught up. But still, Xavier hung right with them down to the final buzzer.

Now, tonight, the Panthers will play Villanova in a Big East rivalry to determine who will be in the Final Four. Villanova will come in full of confidence after a huge rout of Duke on Thursday.

Their stellar defense kept Duke to just a whopping 54 points, and kept Sheyer, Henderson, and Singler to just 9 for 45 in shooting. It was Duke's season-low in points, and Villanova came away with an astonishing 23-point victory (77-54) over the sixth-ranked Blue Devils.

Both teams have been tested so far, but this won't be a battle of experience. It will be a battle to see if Villanova's defense can hold up against Blair and Pittsburgh. And I think it will hold up pretty well, or at least enough for the Villanova Wildcats to represent the East Region in the Final Four at Ford Field.

Pick: Pittsburgh 78, Villanova 82  OT

Spread Pick: Villanova (+2.0)