NCAA Tournament 2015: Updated Bracket and Odds Advice for Final Four Action

Two contrasting Final Four matchups are similarly handicapped heading into the NCAA tournament's closing weekend.

According to Odds Shark, Kentucky and Duke are both five-point favorites as of Friday morning. Underdogs Wisconsin and Michigan State, however, shouldn't take the spread as a slight. 

Kentucky is a perfect 38-0 with a 20.7-point margin of victory. Given the six-point opening line, bettors like the Badgers' chances of either ending the Wildcats' undefeated run or giving them another nail-biter.

Meanwhile, No. 7 Michigan State doesn't surrender much ground despite its status as the only non-No. 1 seed invading the Final Four. Tom Izzo has harnessed underdogs into overachievers too many times before.

For people who don't feel weird betting on unpaid athletes, here's a breakdown of each clash.  

Date	Game	Time (ET)	TV	Odds	Prediction
Saturday, April 4	No. 1 Duke vs. No. 7 Michigan State	6:09 p.m.	TBS	Duke -5	74-66 Duke
Saturday, April 4	No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 1 Wisconsin	8:49 p.m.	TBS	Kentucky -5	71-68 Kentucky

Kentucky vs. Wisconsin

Despite their dominance all year, expect the Wildcats to teeter on the brink of elimination once more.

After Wisconsin took out Arizona—the only other team besides Kentucky with a top-10 rating in both adjusted offense and defense on KenPom.com—it now represents Kentucky's toughest challenger all year long.

As Notre Dame showed in the Elite Eight, it takes a tenacious offense to muster any points against the Wildcats. Led by Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker, the Badgers are college basketball's most efficient scoring squad.

ESPN Stats & Info offers the tale of the tape between two super units: 

Dekker especially must maintain his torrid tournament play. As noted by ESPN College BBall, the junior is playing the best basketball of his life at the most opportune time:

"

Sam Dekker has gone for 20+ points three times in the NCAA Tournament, matching his total from the regular season. pic.twitter.com/iyrSigpCUY

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) March 31, 2015"

If his production regresses to the mean against Kentucky's towering defense, the Badgers are in trouble. Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein will have something to say about whether Kaminsky carries Wisconsin to an upset.

Kaminsky, who leads the team with 18.7 points per game, acknowledged those giant upcoming roadblocks, per Wisconsin Basketball's Twitter page: 

For Wisconsin to beat the line, it must become the third team to play within five points of the Wildcats. It's also better than Kentucky's previous 38 adversaries, so expect a single-digit outcome with meaningful minutes late in the second half.

It wouldn't be surprising to see the game end with a precise five-point differential, so beware taking either side in this epic bout.

Duke vs. Michigan State

Overlooking the Izzo factor, Duke is the smart pick here.

The Blue Devils boast a 15.2-point margin of victory this year compared to the Spartans' plus-8.2-point differential. Sure, their habit of gutting out victories makes the Spartans national darlings, but the ball won't always roll their way.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

They have yet to win a tournament game by more than seven points and received fortuitous bracket placement, with No. 1 Villanova ousted by NC State and No. 2 Virginia entering a battered and decayed top seed.

Duke, on the other hand, just conquered Utah and Gonzaga, both rated top-10 teams on KenPom.com. An offensive juggernaut throughout the season, Mike Krzyzewski's group has soared on the other end, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Michigan State has already accomplished a great deal, turning a 13-7 start into a Final Four appearance. Former head coach Jud Heathcote admitted to ESPN.com's Dana O'Neil that he didn't think Izzo could work his magic this time.

"At midseason, this was the first year I thought Tom's team wouldn't make the tournament, and now they're in the Final Four. Maybe the game has passed me by," Heathcote said. "He's been an outstanding coach for 20 years, but this might be his best coaching job ever." 

There's no shame falling to a Duke squad firing on all cylinders. After fading into the background against two colossally sized clubs, Jahlil Okafor will pummel an undersized Michigan State frontcourt.