Elite 8 2016: Full Schedule and Final Four Bracket Predictions

It's a tale of two sides in the Elite Eight bracket this year.

On one side, No. 1 Kansas encounters No. 2 Villanova and No. 1 Oregon clashes with No. 2 Oklahoma— rather drab affairs in the sense no bracket busters made it through to the final eight.

The other, though, tells a different story as No. 6 Notre Dame exceeded expectations to land a matchup with No. 1 North Carolina. Even more impressive is an odds buster in the form of No. 10 Syracuse, a team ready to go to war with No. 1 Virginia.

It's a nice balance and a strong weekend of action, perhaps leading to unpredictable results and a personification the madness label.

Elite Eight Schedule and Predictions

Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV	Pick ATS
March 26	No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 2 Oklahoma (-1)	6:09 p.m.	CBS	Oregon
March 26	No. 1 Kansas (-2) vs. No. 2 Villanova	8:49 p.m.	CBS	Villanova
March 27	No. 1 Virginia (-8) vs. No. 10 Syracuse	6:09 p.m.	TBS	Virginia
March 27	No. 1 North Carolina (-9.5) vs. No. 6 Notre Dame	8:49 p.m.	TBS	North Carolina

No. 1 Virginia (-8) vs. No. 10 Syracuse

So here is No. 10 Syracuse, sitting 68th in ESPN's RPI rankings with a No. 19 adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom.com as the biggest Cinderella of them all this season.

Strange, right? The Orange only won 19 games this year. But the selection committee let them into the fray, taking into account how the team struggled without legendary coach Jim Boeheim while he served a suspension.

Turns out the selection committee got it right. The team powered past No. 7 Dayton, 70-51, then took care of business against a gassed No. 15 Middle Tennessee, 75-50. Most impressive, though, was a Sweet 16 encounter with No. 11 Gonzaga, which Syracuse dismissed 63-60.

“Certain things have happened,” Orange guard Trevor Cooney said, according to USA Today's Nancy Armour. “But this group has stayed strong, and we’re fortunate to have great coaches to lead us in the right way. Everyone has just come together.”

The common thread with the Orange thus far is elite defense, but there is just one problem—Virginia does it even better. On paper, the Cavaliers do it all better, ranking No. 1 overall at KenPom.com with adjusted offensive and defensive efficiencies ranking eighth or better.

As a No. 1 seed, the Cavaliers haven't played the most impressive crop of talent around to get to this point. But a Sweet 16 encounter with Iowa State seemed like a serious roadblock considering the Cyclones ranked fourth in adjusted offensive efficiency.

Apparently not. Virginia won 84-71, forcing 12 turnovers and drawing 19 fouls to compensate in the face of a fast-pitched attack.

It's this ability to control the pace of games by head coach Tony Bennett's rotations that will have Virginia ending the fun Syracuse story in emphatic fashion, much in line with how Las Vegas appears to feel about the matter.

Prediction: Virginia 82, Syracuse 72

No. 1 North Carolina (-9.5) vs. No. 6 Notre Dame

Las Vegas seems to feel even more strongly about the encounter between North Carolina and Notre Dame. 

It makes plenty of sense. Both teams faced a strength of schedule within three of one another, yet Notre Dame finished 32nd in RPI with 21 wins. North Carolina posted 28 wins to sit fifth.

The disparity grows when advanced metrics enter the fray. North Carolina ranks 16th in adjusted defensive efficiency and second on the offensive side. Notre Dame looks great at 10th in the offensive category, but boasts a miserable rank of 154th on the defensive end.

Granted, this is the NCAA tournament and anything can happen. But the Fighting Irish have yet to face a higher seed and haven't looked all too impressive thus far, beating No. 11 Michigan 70-63, No. 14 Stephen F. Austin 76-75 and No. 7 Wisconsin 61-56.

Folks should know all about North Carolina, the team that has run roughshod over the bracket, picking up three wins by an average margin of over 16 points. CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein added some context:

Odds are this one turns out as lopsided as it looks given the wealth of evidence. Notre Dame scores well, but North Carolina still averages eight more points per game and will pick apart the shaky Fighting Irish defense with four starters averaging 12 or more points.

Notre Dame has the juice to keep pace in the first half, but exhausting defensive efforts will let the Tar Heels pull away in the second half as the fatigue sets in for a struggling Notre Dame defense.

Prediction: North Carolina 92, Notre Dame 79

Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.

Stats and information courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified. Advanced metrics courtesy of ESPN.com and KenPom.com. Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.