March Madness 2015: Bracket Predictions, Odds Tips for Final Four Schedule

Legacies are built on Final Four banners and national championships. Two teams will take one step closer to the ultimate achievement Saturday night in Indianapolis.

College basketball fans couldn't have asked for better matchups in this year's semifinals of the NCAA tournament. On one side, you've got a rematch between the Wisconsin Badgers and Kentucky Wildcats. On the other is a meeting between two of the most consistently successful programs of the 21st century: the Duke Blue Devils and Michigan State Spartans.

Below is a final breakdown for the two colossal games.

Updated Bracket

Final Four Schedule

Time (ET)	Matchup	Odds	TV Info	Pick
6:09 p.m.	No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 1 Duke	Duke (-6)	TBS	Duke
8:49 p.m.	No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 1 Kentucky	UK (-5)	TBS	Wisconsin

Odds Advice

Don't Get Sentimental about Michigan State

It wouldn't be inaccurate to say that very few saw Michigan State advancing to the Final Four. Even the most diehard Spartans fans couldn't have foreseen the team surviving this long. Even head coach Tom Izzo acknowledged his shock after his team beat the Louisville Cardinals in the Elite Eight, per the Associated Press, via ESPN.com:

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"I'd like to tell you that I thought five different times this year that we were good enough to get to a Final Four, but I'd be lying to you," said coach Tom Izzo, who described this as the best of seven regional final victories he has enjoyed. "But I think the burning desire to be in this Final Four, and they didn't want to be a group that didn't make it. I think it was more of the battle cry all year long."

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CBS Sports' Sam Vecenie argued that this is the best coaching job Izzo has ever done:

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So despite having a bunch of average individual defenders, very little in the way of returning scoring, and a bunch of no-name recruits that only a few big schools wanted, Izzo has his team back into the Final Four, where it seems like he pops up just about every other year. It's clearly an incredible achievement. So where does this one rank for him?

Izzo was noncommittal, but it's clear that this group is special to him as the "most improbable" one.

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He's underselling it big-time there. This is Tom Izzo's masterpiece. A team filled with non-elite parts that became elite by coming together. And if there's anything more indicative of his tenure at Michigan State than this group of kids, I'm not sure what it is.

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With all of the rightful adulation sent Izzo's way combined with the general hatred of anything Duke most college basketball fans feel, some might let their emotions get in the way of their pick for the Spartans and Blue Devils' upcoming matchup.

From strictly a talent perspective, Michigan State can't match up with Duke. The Blue Devils are loaded with blue-chip recruits and McDonald's All-Americans in guys like Tyus Jones, Justise Winslow, Quinn Cook and Jahlil Okafor.

Now, talent isn't always a guarantee for success. But 247Sports' Jerry Meyer highlighted what makes Duke different from other star-laden teams that have flamed out early in the NCAA tournament:

No player will be bigger against Michigan State than Winslow. The freshman forward impacts the game on both ends of the court. He's not a dynamic scorer, but he chipped in with 21 points in the Sweet 16 and 16 points in the Elite Eight for the Blue Devils.

Winslow's supreme defense will also come in handy as Duke looks to neutralize Denzel Valentine and Travis Trice. If one or both of those players struggle, Michigan State will be in serious trouble.

It would be unfair to the Spartans to dismiss them totally, but the talent gap is bound to catch up with them at some point. Michigan State will hang close with Duke until the final five or so minutes, at which point the Blue Devils will open up a comfortable gap and more than cover the spread.

Back Wisconsin to Cover

With the way that Kentucky was pushed to the brink against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, many are likely expecting something special from the Wildcats in their next game as a show of strength.

While that could very well happen, don't expect Kentucky to make quick work of Wisconsin. In fact, as you can see in the table above, I'm picking the Badgers to pull off the upset.

If you don't want to go that far, it will be slightly less extreme to predict Wisconsin to at least keep it to within five points against the Wildcats.

Although it was in a losing effort, the Cincinnati Bearcats did well to really slow the game down when they played Kentucky. The Wildcats were thrown out of their rhythm offensively in what was the only game of the tournament in which they failed to make at least 40 percent of their shots.

The Bearcats ultimately lacked the offensive firepower to stay with Kentucky in the second half and lost by 13 points.

That won't be a problem with Wisconsin. According to KenPom.com, the Badgers rank first in adjusted offense and 345th in adjusted tempo. That combination could be toxic for the Wildcats. Unlike Cincinnati, Wisconsin not only slows the game down to a crawl but is also efficient enough to finish its possessions with baskets at a high frequency.

Vice Sports' Patrick Hruby believes Bo Ryan has developed the perfect offense for today's college basketball:

Ben Cohen of The Wall Street Journal added that the Badgers wring every single second out of the shot clock and still manage to score:

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The final seconds of the shot clock are when Wisconsin thrives. Only one of the 351 teams in the country attempted as many field goals in the last five seconds of the shot clock as the Badgers, who let time wind down on 18.1% of their possessions, according to Hoop-Math.com. For most teams, these shots are usually inefficient. Wisconsin, though, shoots 47.5% in the last five seconds of the shot clock. That or better is what it’s going to take Saturday.

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Kentucky undoubtedly owns a great defense, but Notre Dame proved that the unit isn't invincible. The Fighting Irish might even be in the Final Four had they not completely botched their last few possessions.

Plus, let's not forget that Wisconsin came within a point last year of beating Kentucky at this same stage. Sure, the Wildcats are an improved version this year, but the same could be said of the Badgers, with Frank Kaminsky, Nigel Hayes and Sam Dekker all taking steps forward in 2014-15.

The idea of Wisconsin beating Kentucky isn't as crazy as you think.

Note: Odds for the Final Four are courtesy of Odds Shark.