March Madness 2015 Bracket: Latest Picks, Odds Advice Before Sunday's Elite 8

Who will book their plane tickets to Indianapolis on Sunday?

The Michigan State Spartans, Louisville Cardinals, Duke Blue Devils and Gonzaga Bulldogs are all fighting over the last two spots in the Final Four and will potentially take one step closer to a national championship.

College basketball fans knew this would be a thrilling Elite Eight when the field came into focus, and it hasn't disappointed so far. Looking at the two games to come later in the day, there's little chance that the excitement will cease anytime soon.

Updated Bracket

Schedule

Time (ET)	Matchup	TV Info	Odds	Prediction
2:20 p.m.	No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Louisville	CBS	MSU (-2.5)	Michigan State
5:05 p.m.	No. 2 Gonzaga vs. No. 1 Duke	CBS	Duke (-3)	Duke

Preview

No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Louisville

Given the way in which Tom Izzo and Rick Pitino continue to get their respective teams to overachieve in March, it's only appropriate that the two match wits with a place in the Final Four on the line.

Both Michigan State and Louisville have defied expectations in such a way that forecasting this game is even tougher to do. The problems that plagued the Spartans and Cardinals earlier in the year haven't been major issues yet in the NCAA tournament, most notably Chris Jones' dismissal from Louisville earlier in the year:

It will be a lot of fun to watch Montrezl Harrell and Branden Dawson match up underneath. The former is averaging 15.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks a night, while the latter is posting 11.9 points, 9.1 boards and 1.6 blocks a game.

Harrell seems to think that he'll get the better of Dawson, per Matt Charboneau of The Detroit News:

However, TaShawn Thomas learned the hard way in the Sweet 16 that Dawson isn't to be trifled with inside.

Guard play might end up deciding this game, and if it does, you have to give Michigan State the edge. The Spartans have two strong scorers in Travis Trice and Denzel Valentine, who are averaging 20.7 and 12.7 points a game, respectively, in the NCAA tournament.

Terry Rozier has been excellent in the Big Dance for Louisville so far, but he might have to step it up a notch against Michigan State—or at least get some major help from Wayne Blackshear—in order for the Cardinals to pull through.

The trio of Dawson, Trice and Valentine played a key role in the Spartans' victory on Friday, per Sean Merriman of BTN.com:

Between their play and Izzo's sideline acumen, Michigan State should edge out a narrow victory.

No. 2 Gonzaga vs. No. 1 Duke

In terms of pure talent, Duke owns an advantage over Gonzaga. Justise Winslow is a do-everything forward, while Jahlil Okafor is an offensive force in the paint. Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones are also averaging double figures a night in scoring.

That's not to say that the gap between the two teams in terms of talent is significant. Kyle Wiltjer is one of the best players in the country, capable of scoring from anywhere on the court, while Przemek Karnowski and Domantas Sabonis are skilled big men capable of taking Okafor out of the game somewhat.

These two teams are strikingly similar. Here's a look at where they rank in adjusted offense, adjusted defense and tempo, according to KenPom.com:

	Overall Rank	Adj. Offense	Adj. Defense	Adj. Tempo
Duke	6	3	27	110
Gonzaga	7	4	30	137

Gonzaga can be an offensive juggernaut when it's in full stride, but a lot hinges on the performance of Wiltjer. When he's off his game, the Bulldogs look much more mortal, as evidenced by their losses to Arizona and BYU, when Wiltjer scored a combined 19 points on 8-of-27 shooting.

Mike Krzyzewski will almost certainly use Winslow on Wiltjer, which could spell bad news for the Zags. As The Washington Post's Matthew Giles writes, the freshman forward wreaks havoc on the defensive end:

"

The recent enhanced play of Justise Winslow has completely changed Duke's defense, which has gotten remarkably stronger the more minutes Winslow plays. He can guard multiple positions, and angles his body well to get past the pick quickly. Also, if an opposing player gets a step on Winslow, he has a ridiculously long wingspan, and can snuff out any attempts while trailing the player.

"

If Winslow can marginalize Wiltjer somewhat, that would be a major blow for the Bulldogs.

Okafor's poor foul shooting might serve as a bit of an equalizer between the two teams. He's shooting just 51.4 percent from the charity stripe, so he'll have a target on his back if Gonzaga is either trying to claw back from a small deficit or slow down the Blue Devils offense:

In the final stages of Duke's Sweet 16 win over Utah, Okafor wasn't even on the court because Coach K couldn't trust his foul shooting.

Duke's relative inexperience has gotten the Blue Devils into trouble at times this year, so that might come into play as well.

However, Duke has so much top-shelf talent that it's too much of a reach to forecast Gonzaga heading to its first Final Four.