Elite Eight 2015: Latest Odds, Picks for Final Four Matchups

Kentucky's near-loss to Notre Dame in the Elite Eight personifies why bettors need to be all over Las Vegas lines during the madness.

The undefeated Wildcats entered with a line favoring them by about 11 points. Late Saturday, they needed two late conversions from the charity stripe and a silent prayer as a three-point attempt by the Fighting Irish sailed over the rim to secure the victory.

The point is, Las Vegas is far from perfect—a thought even more prevalent in the madness when rounds fly by in back-to-back nature.

It's exhausting, yes, but this is the home stretch with one Elite Eight contest left on the docket and the first Final Four bout available for bets. Let's take a look at both. 

2015 Elite Eight Schedule and Odds

Date	Matchup (Odds)	Time (ET)	TV	Pick
Sun., 3/29	No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 7 Michigan State (-3)	2:20 p.m.	CBS	Michigan State
Sun., 3/29	No. 1 Duke (-3) vs. No. 2 Gonzaga	5:05 p.m.	CBS	Duke

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark as of March 29 at 1 p.m. ET.

Final Four Schedule and Picks

Date	Matchup (Odds)	Pick
April 4	No. 1 Kentucky (-6) vs. No. 1 Wisconsin	Kentucky
April 4	Winner of No. 4 LOU/No. 7 MSU vs. winner of No. 1 DUKE/No. 2 GONZ	Duke beats MSU

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark as of March 29 at 1 p.m. ET.

Final Four Breakdown

Let's craft the rest of the Final Four first—and keep it simple.

Duke advances and moves on to the title game.

It's a lot of info, so break it down into chunks. Gonzaga isn't going to overcome Duke in the Elite Eight.

While the Bulldogs are the best shooting team in the land with a .524 mark in field-goal percentage and rank fourth in adjusted offense at KenPom.com, Duke ranks one spot higher in the same metric.

When the Blue Devils aren't getting double-digit outbursts from freshman star Jahlil Okafor, others seamlessly pick up the load and take care of business. Against Utah, Okafor scored six, but senior leader Quinn Cook posted 11, freshman Tyus Jones 15 and freshman Justise Winslow 21.

Forget Duke's stunning wealth of options comparable only to Kentucky—even history says Gonzaga isn't winning, as ESPN Stats & Info illustrates:

The notion Duke makes it through the Final Four to the title game dismisses one of Louisville and Michigan State, too.

While both teams are great and it isn't a shock to see either Rick Pitino or Tom Izzo still alive, the thought is the two teams will give everything they have and exhaust themselves to just move past one another. After all, the two rank right next to each other in ESPN's RPI rankings and tout opposing strengths.

Once one of the teams advances, Duke will get the scraps and outmatches either side both in the paint and on the wings.

What about the matchup already set?

For all the chatter about upsets, madness and the like, it features two No. 1 seeds.

Kentucky and Wisconsin, No. 1 and No. 2 in RPI, respectively, were always the favorites to encounter one another.

The Badgers took care of business against Arizona behind 29 points from Frank Kaminsky and another 27 from Sam Dekker. Call it a necessary commodity considering the Wildcats shot 55.8 percent from the field.

Even Arizona coach Sean Miller offered praise for the two after the game.

Team	ADJ OFF	ADJ DEF
Kentucky	6	1
Wisconsin	1	55

"Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky, they're really good," Miller said, per ESPN.com. "No team has done what they did to us in the second half. They made shots, and if they play like that next weekend, they have a chance to win it all."

The problem is the duo hasn't faced anything like Kentucky's twin-towers look in the paint with Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein. The former just posted 25 on his own to fend off Notre Dame.

Call it the deciding factor between two of the nation's top teams. Kentucky has enough size and athleticism to fluster both of Wisconsin's top scorers, meaning the pressure to produce might transfer to players on the perimeter.

It poses a riddle for Wisconsin 38 teams have attempted to solve to no avail. The Badgers aren't a lights-out shooting team like Notre Dame and for the first time in a long time can't win playing their usual pace, because it play's right into Kentucky's hands.

Prediction: No. 1 Duke and No. 1 Kentucky win Final Four matchups and advance to title game.

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