NCAA Tournament 2015: Sunday's Elite 8 Scores, Updated Bracket and Schedule

The 2015 Final Four will officially be set at the end of Sunday's Elite Eight NCAA tournament action, as two regional champions emerge to punch their tickets to Indianapolis.

Kentucky escaped Notre Dame to win the Midwest, while Wisconsin defeated Arizona to get through the West Region. Sunday sees two prolific programs in Michigan State and Louisville do battle for the East crown followed by what should be a shootout between Duke and Gonzaga to decide the South.

Below is a recap of each of Sunday's games, featuring an updated bracket and a fresh look at the national semifinals schedule once the Elite Eight concludes.

Matchup	Result
No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 7 Michigan State	76-70 (OT), Michigan State
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 2 Gonzaga	66-52, Duke

Date	Game	Start Time (ET)	Network	Location
Saturday, April 4	No. 1 Duke vs. No. 7 Michigan State	6:09 p.m.	TBS	Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)
Saturday, April 4	No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 1 Wisconsin	8:49 p.m.	TBS	Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)

Duke 66, Gonzaga 52

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

What was expected to be a shootout turned into a hard-fought, gritty defensive effort that saw the Blue Devils emerge victorious.

CBS Sports' Seth Davis alluded to how well-rounded Duke has become en route to the Final Four:

While some of the other Duke stars struggled to find rhythm, Matt Jones emerged as an unsung hero with 16 points. SportsCenter made note of Jones' rare offensive outburst:

A huge turning point came when Gonzaga star Kyle Wiltjer missed a wide-open layup that would have tied the game at 53. It was from there that the Blue Devils went on a late run that put everything out of reach for the mid-major powerhouse Bulldogs.

Justise Winslow struggled from the field, but he made some huge plays late in the game, including a three-pointer that put Duke out in front 60-51 and all but ended Gonzaga's Big Dance run right then.

Winslow wound up with 4-of-13 shooting, yet DraftExpress.com's Jonathan Givony noted how dominant he was otherwise:

Questions about depth will continue to follow Duke, but the Blue Devils have as good of an all-around starting five as there is in the country. That may be enough to at least get past Michigan State in the national semifinals.

Massive center Jahlil Okafor (6'11") could have been more assertive versus Gonzaga and ought to be so against a smaller Spartans front line. It would be a surprise to see Okafor not elevate his game and help will Duke to the national title game, presumably for a matchup with Kentucky.

Michigan State 76, Louisville 70 (OT)

Elsa/Getty Images

After losing five of six overtime games prior to the NCAA tournament, the Spartans came out on top Sunday when it mattered most, completing a rally from an eight-point halftime deficit.

A couple of interesting game trends made it unclear as to whether Sparty would stage the comeback:

Even an offensively challenged squad like the Cardinals managed to put up 40 points in the first half on Michigan State, though. The Spartans entered ranking 47th in KenPom.com's defensive rankings.

Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde referenced the trends between the two teams that made Louisville's 20-minute burst unusual:

ESPN Stats & Info pointed to the advantage Louisville enjoyed inside in the early going:

But as one might have expected from coach Tom Izzo's Spartans, they promptly made a 9-2 run after the halftime intermission to get right back into the game and pull within one point.

Sparty put the clamps down on defense, as Sports Illustrated's Pete Thamel alluded to:

Michigan State wound up pulling in front 57-51 and had assisted on 18 of 20 field goals to that point, while Louisville couldn't execute a bucket in its half-court sets. Eventually it tightened down the stretch to force extra action.

Montrezl Harrell had a quiet second half after dominating in the first 20 minutes, charging senior Louisville swingman Wayne Blackshear to pick up the slack. Blackshear led all scorers with 28 points but didn't get enough help otherwise to help the Cardinals maintain their first-half momentum.

It was a balanced Spartans scoring effort. Travis Trice led the way with 17 points. Denzel Valentine had 15, and Bryn Forbes hit four three-pointers off the bench as part of his 14 points—five of which came in the overtime period.

The words Izzo said before Sunday's epic showdown epitomized the collective resolve his side displayed.

"We've got our work cut out for us," said Izzo, per ESPN.com's Dana O'Neil. "But we've had our work cut out for us all year in different ways."

NCAA March Madness highlighted Izzo's amazing prowess in the Big Dance:

No matter what happens from here, it's quite an accomplishment for the Spartans just to have advanced this far as a seventh seed. This year serves as another example of why to never count Izzo's teams out, no matter where they stack up entering the NCAA tourney.

The next game presents a difficult challenge for Michigan State in the form of Duke. This Blue Devils squad has a tremendous offense that can light it up from the perimeter and on the inside, giving the Spartans a formidable overall test.

As much as Michigan State went on to limit Louisville as Sunday's game progressed, it can't afford that kind of slip-up against a far more explosive adversary from the South Region.