NCAA Tournament 2022: Tips for Odds, Over/Under Scores for Saturday's Elite 8

Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski is one win away from reaching the Final Four in his last season in charge of the program.

Duke could also be playing for the chance to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels in New Orleans depending on UNC's result on Sunday. 

The Arkansas Razorbacks will not go down easily on Saturday night. The SEC squad comes into the Elite Eight off a victory over the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. 

Eric Musselman drew up a terrific game plan to slow down the Gonzaga Bulldogs, and the Razorbacks could benefit from a similar strategy to win their second game in San Francisco.

The Houston Cougars and Villanova Wildcats face off in the first of two Saturday games in San Antonio.

Both teams carry a ton of experience throughout their rosters. Houston is attempting to get back to the Final Four for the second straight year, while Villanova is trying to reach that part of the NCAA tournament for the third time since 2016. 

Saturday Elite Eight Schedule

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook..

No. 5 Houston (-2.5) vs. No. 2 Villanova (Over/Under: 128) (6:09 p.m. ET, TBS) 

No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 2 Duke (-4) (O/U: 147.5) (8:49 p.m. ET, TBS) 

Predictions

Arkansas (+4) vs. Duke

Arkansas makes its opponents work for every basket. 

The Razorbacks play a relentless style of defense, and they have a ton of athleticism that can hurt opponents on both sides of the ball. 

Arkansas held Gonzaga to 68 points on Thursday night in a game in which Chet Holmgren did not have much of an impact on the final result. 

The SEC squad forced Gonzaga's weaker parts of the starting lineup to beat it, and the Zags were unable to win that way.

Arkansas will likely draw a game plan to slow down Paolo Banchero in some capacity. The star freshman had at least 17 points in each of his three NCAA tournament appearances. 

Duke brings more to the table than just Banchero. Jeremy Roach was fantastic in the Sweet 16 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders, while AJ Griffin and Mark Williams have come into their own as part of the supporting cast. 

Arkansas' JD Notae, Davonte Davis and Au'Diese Toney need to take away at least one member of the Duke supporting cast to remain competitive. 

The Razorbacks rank 11th in adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom.com, and they rank in the top 65 in four other key defensive metrics. 

Arkansas also holds the edge in free-throw shooting and tempo. It will not be afraid to push the pace and put Duke's defense into vulnerable spots in transition, which could lead to more trips to the free-throw line. 

Eric Musselman's team needs another near-perfect performance to eliminate Duke, but it proved on Thursday that it is more than capable of running with one of the top teams in the nation. We should see that on display again on Saturday. 

Houston vs. Villanova (+2.5) 

Houston and Villanova carry a ton of similarities, which is why Saturday's opener is much harder to break down than the nightcap. 

The Cougars and Wildcats do not have any collegiate superstars on their rosters, but Kelvin Sampson and Jay Wright thrive because they get a collective buy-in from their players. 

Both squads trust the systems in play, and because of that, there are minimal mistakes made by both sides.

Houston is relentless with its length on defense. It frustrated the top-seeded Arizona Wildcats in the Sweet 16.

The Cougars rank inside the top 10 in five defensive metrics on KenPom, but they have one key flaw that may hurt them in a close game against Villanova. 

Houston ranks 327th in free-throw shooting in Division 1. It missed eight of its 25 attempts on Thursday.

Villanova is the best free-throw shooting team in the country. The Wildcats went 38-for-44 at the line in their first three NCAA tournament games. 

If Villanova has to close out the contest at the line, Houston likely does not stand a chance of cutting into the lead. 

The Wildcats could also use the free-throw line to their advantage throughout the contest, as Collin Gillespie, Justin Moore and others cut to the basket in search of points and contact. 

Villanova starts three seniors, has another one come off the bench and has one junior and a sophomore in its starting lineup. 

Jay Wright's team is one of the most experienced squads in the nation, and it has not shown many flaws. 

If Villanova is not affected by Houston's aggressive defense, the Wildcats could keep the game close and finish it off at the line in the closing minutes. 

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