NCAA Tournament 2015: Picks, Updated Odds Ahead of Sunday's Elite 8 Schedule

The final two tickets to the 2015 Final Four will be punched on Sunday. Louisville and Michigan State are set to face off to determine the East Region winner before Duke and Gonzaga battle it out for bragging rights in the South Region. 

Though the latter matchup is a meeting between the top two seeds in the South, the East pairing shows there was still some madness in March. The Cardinals are a No. 4 seed while the Spartans are a No. 7 despite the programs' high-profile statuses.

So let's check out all the important information for the day's Elite Eight games, including odds for both contests. That's followed by a look at the tournament bracket and predictions for both matchups.

Sunday's Elite Eight Schedule

Time (ET)	Team	Team	TV	Odds
2:20 p.m.	Louisville	Michigan State	CBS	MSU -2.5
5:05 p.m.	Duke	Gonzaga	CBS	DUKE -2.5

2015 NCAA Tournament Bracket

Game Predictions

East: No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 7 Michigan State

Tom Izzo has received a lot of praise of late, and he's earned it. Even when his teams aren't among the top tier during the regular season, he gets them prepared for the tournament. The Spartans have almost always been a tough out during his tenure.

The numbers back up the eye test. Neil Paine of FiveThirtyEight wrote an article about how Izzo is the best coach in the current era of the NCAA tournament by a wide margin. This was based on how many more games his teams have won compared to what's expected in March. 

Nicole Auerbach of USA Today passed along comments from Spartans forward Marvin Clark Jr. about how the longtime coach prepares his team for March Madness all season.

"(Izzo) loves this game, he loves his players, he loves the stage," Clark said. "All the work we've been putting in during the tournament, we do the same thing during the regular season. At the same time, you know, this is his time of the year."

Of course, his counterpart on Sunday, Rick Pitino, also deserves some credit. Louisville came into the season with high expectations but never seemed to reach its peak during the regular season. Now it appears the Cardinals may be coming into their own at the perfect time.

Mike Greenberg of ESPN believes the Cardinals have emerged as a threat to reach the title game:

Louisville's shooters are crucial to success in this game. The Spartans have a highly efficient offense and protect the rim well. The key to beating them is connecting on the mid-range and three-point shots to stretch that defense away from the paint.

That means the onus is on Quentin Snider, Wayne Blackshear and Terry Rozier to find a rhythm. If they do, the Cardinals advance. If they don't, Michigan State probably will. Either way, it should be a close contest deep into the second half.

Pick: Louisville

South: No. 1 Duke vs. No. 2 Gonzaga

Duke came into the tournament as one of the nation's most explosive teams on offense. Led by Jahlil Okafor, the Blue Devils have a handful of players capable of taking over a game at any time. There were questions about whether they could get key stops on defense, though.

Three games in, they haven't allowed more than 57 points in any contest. Daniel Carp of the Duke Chronicle provided remarks from stalwart Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who praised his team's play on that end of the floor.

"I thought our defense was just outstanding. That's the third straight game in the tournament that we've played great defense," Krzyzewski said. "They've gotten a bum rap really for not being able to play defense. We wouldn't win over 30 games unless we're playing good defense."

If the Blue Devils continue to excel defensively, the outlook for the final three games of the tournament obviously becomes a lot brighter.

As for Gonzaga, facing off with top seeds has spelled doom for the program in the past. SportsCenter noted those struggles:

Perhaps the reason Coach K highlighted the strong defensive play is he knew the next game would rely heavily on that continuing. These teams are terrific offensively. Duke has Okafor and Quinn Cook. Gonzaga has Kyle Wiltjer and Kevin Pangos. Both sides have plenty of scoring depth, and this could well be a race to 80 points. 

Whichever team comes up with more defensive stops in the second half will head to the Final Four. Just like Sunday's first game, it should be close, but the Blue Devils hold the slight edge.

Pick: Duke