NCAA Bracket 2015: Picks and Updated Odds Ahead of Saturday's Elite 8 Schedule

The path to the 2015 NCAA championship runs through the old guard.

Kentucky's through to the Elite Eight after treating West Virginia like a pickup team from the local YMCA. Duke looks as strong as it has all season. Michigan State and Louisville collide in a matchup needing no explanation.

Heck, even Gonzaga survived the Sweet 16.

There was no possible better Elite Eight lineup. With it here, now is the time to pounce on offerings from Las Vegas with a short turnaround before tipoff.

2015 Elite Eight Schedule and Odds

Date	Matchup (Odds)	Time (ET)	TV	Pick
Sat., 3/28	No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 2 Arizona (-1)	6:09 p.m.	TBS	Wisconsin
Sat., 3/28	No. 1 Kentucky (-11.5) vs. No. 3 Notre Dame	8:49 p.m.	TBS	Kentucky
Sun., 3/29	No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 7 Michigan State (-1)	2:20 p.m.	CBS	Michigan State
Sun., 3/29	No. 1 Duke (-2) vs. No. 2 Gonzaga	5:05 p.m.	CBS	Duke

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark as of March 28 at 11 a.m. ET.

Saturday Odds Advice 

No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 2 Arizona

One of the top matchups most wanted to see after the bracket reveal, two of the most efficient teams will meet on the hardwood on Saturday.

Arizona, after public dissections of Texas Southern and Ohio State, took care of business late against sixth-seeded Xavier to get to this point. Once again, T.J. McConnell played the hero with a team-high 17 points.

It's much of the same story for Wisconsin, as the Badgers took down Coastal Carolina and Oregon before pulling away from fourth-seeded North Carolina late, with a surprise 23 points from Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky's 19 on 5-of-11 shooting.

"It's just great to have so many voices understanding what needs to happen and what we need to do out on the court, which was getting stops," Kaminsky said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com), "and then coming down and getting good, easy looks at the bucket, and we were able to do so."

The end result is indecisiveness from Las Vegas and one tough (and great) showdown between two elite teams, as efficiency numbers from KenPom.com illustrate.

Team	ADJ OFF	ADJ DEF
Wisconsin	1	50
Arizona	7	3

When it comes to odds, Las Vegas took a bold stance with its opening line, as RJ Bell of Pregame.com points out:

So what's the deciding factor? 

Look, bettors know this road. These two met in the bracket last year, and Wisconsin sent Arizona packing behind 28 points and 11 boards by Kaminsky.

This isn't to suggest the Wildcats didn't learn from the experience. They can throw Kaleb Tarczewski, Brandon Ashley and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson at the 7-footer. But Kaminsky hasn't just stopped developing, either, and he's too good of a facilitator to not get his other four guys involved.

Look for Wisconsin to control the pace of the game as it always does and pull away late.

Prediction: Wisconsin 72, Arizona 70

No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 3 Notre Dame

Is Notre Dame the team to end Kentucky's historic run?

Las Vegas doesn't think so, and it is hard to imagine most Fighting Irish fans think so, either.

Not with the way Notre Dame has played to date, at least. The team just slipped past 14th-seeded Northeastern in the second round, then struggled with sixth-seeded Butler to set up a Sweet 16 showdown with Wichita State.

While under-seeded, the Shockers put up a serious fight, causing the Fighting Irish to lose the battle on the glass, commit 11 turnovers and need 55.6 percent shooting from the floor to squeak past.

Coach Mike Brey even embraces his team's role, as captured by AP Top 25:

He doesn't seem to have a choice.

Team	ADJ OFF	ADJ DEF
Kentucky	6	1
Notre Dame	2	99

Kentucky blew past Hampton and Cincinnati before looking its best to date with a 78-39 shaming of the Mountaineers. It's not just a matter of five players (two of them off the bench) scoring in double digits or the team as a whole shooting 48 percent.

It's also the Wildcats defense forcing the Mountaineers to shoot 24.1 percent from the field and just 2-of-15 from deep, not to mention winning the battle on the glass 44-32.

There's no question Notre Dame sports an elite offense. History also seems to somewhat smile on the encounter considering the Fighting Irish own eight triumphs against No. 1 seeds.

But not this top seed. Many teams look good entering a bout with the Wildcats, only to emerge losers and a shell of their former selves.

It's one thing for Jerian Grant (16.6 points per game) and others to score well in ACC and bracket play; it's another to drive into the lane against a twin-towers look of Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein and do much of anything.

Kentucky is nine deep and hasn't lost for a reason. The over is large and Notre Dame's offense is attractive, but anything other than the Wildcats beating the spread is a waste of time.

Prediction: Kentucky 84, Notre Dame 71

Stats and info are courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.