March Madness 2015: Bracket Predictions, Odds Tips for Elite 8 Schedule Saturday

March Madness has brought us some entertaining and memorable matchups. Who'll soon forget R.J. Hunter's made three-pointer with 2.6 seconds to go that gave Georgia State a second-round upset over Baylor—and made Hunter's coach and father fall to the floor in shocked excitement?

And what about Wichita State's third-round demolition of Kansas?

But now it's really coming down to the wire, and this is where the real fun begins. The Elite Eight starts Saturday, and the teams that have been the best all year, the juggernauts with the highest seeds, are finally going to collide.

Here's the schedule of where you can catch all the action: 

2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight Schedule for Saturday
Matchup	TV	Start Time (ET)	Point Spread	Prediction
No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 2 Arizona	TBS	6:09 p.m.	Arizona (-1.5)	Arizona, 77-69
No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 3 Notre Dame	TBS	8:49 p.m.	Kentucky (-11)	Kentucky, 65-53

Odds via Odds Shark

Upset City

Wisconsin got off to a sluggish start, and it took hot shooting late for it to get past North Carolina on Thursday.

It was the second time this postseason that the Badgers struggled to find their offensive rhythm. It first happened in the Big Ten title game, when they were down early to Michigan State before clawing back to win in overtime.

Granted, the two times that Wisconsin looked a bit shaky were against powerful opponents. It could even be argued that the Badgers pulling out wins late is a testament to their versatility, to the grit and resourcefulness of players such as Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker. The No. 1 Badgers can be front-runners, and they can be chasers.

That may be true, but if I were Wisconsin, I wouldn't want to test that theory too often. That's especially true with a berth in the Final Four on the line and against an Arizona team that is still sore over getting bounced by the Badgers in last year's Elite Eight.

Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post says the No. 2 Wildcats are thinking revenge, and that it will be a cold dish: "It would be high-stakes, high-level game regardless of the history. But last year’s classic, and the bitterness that Arizona has carried, makes it richer. 'We’ve had all year,' Miller said, 'to think about Wisconsin.'"

Arizona has lost just three games all season. It has a knack for turning up the pressure against opposing defenses and creating defensive havoc of its own. Now that Wisconsin has been a bit wobbly in recent weeks, the Wildcats can deliver the knockout punch, says CBS Sports' Seth Davis:

Chalk the Walk

Kentucky has been pulverizing the field, beating its three opponents thus far by an average of 25 points. West Virginia on Thursday was supposed to give No. 1 Kentucky its stiffest test because of its attacking defense, but it was the Mountaineers who got blitzed and took a 78-39 beating.

Notre Dame now has been anointed the next team with the best chance to really give Kentucky problems. That moniker isn't necessarily wrong. It's just that so many things will have to go wrong for Kentucky while, at the same time, the Irish will have to have so many things break their way.

No. 3 Notre Dame certainly has the personnel on the outside to match up with Kentucky. The ball protection and sharp perimeter shooting of guards Pat Connaughton, Jerian Grant and Demetrius Jackson has helped the Irish register the second-best field-goal percentage in the country. It provides the kind of spacing that will force Kentucky's stingy defense to have to stay active and expend a lot of energy.

Notre Dame may also have a little something extra. Sometimes you can draw a little extra strength that you didn't even know you had inside of you when you are bound together by tragedy.

Notre Dame coach Mike Brey lost his mother to a heart attack on March 21, according to ESPN.com's Dana O'Neil. The Irish beat Butler that evening. O'Neil quotes Brey, who says the win was "kind of a tribute to her. It was a really special night. ... I think she was definitely with us down the stretch."

Notre Dame put on an offensive clinic Thursday to get past Wichita State and reach the Elite Eight. The Irish shot 75 percent during the second half, prompting Mike Greenberg of ESPN to say:

Those are better odds than anyone else has gotten so far in the tournament.