The third ticket to the Final Four will be punched on Sunday afternoon in Arlington, where the #4 Michigan Wolverines are going to hope to find some more magic when they take on the #3 Florida Gators, who are going to be playing in their most difficult game of the tourney to date. Join us for our Elite Eight predictions and our March Madness picks for Florida vs. Michigan in the South Region Final.

March Madness: Michigan Wolverines vs. Florida Gators
Michigan vs. Florida Location: Dallas Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, TX
Michigan vs. Florida Date/Time: Sunday, March 31st, 2:20 p.m. ET
March Madness Television Coverage: CBS

Key #1: Trey Burke has to continue to work his magic from the outside
For the entire first half, Burke was shut down against the Kansas Jayhawks on Friday night. He had absolutely nothing going his way, and he and his Wolverines seemed destined to be headed out on the next flight back to Ann Arbor. However, Burke really turned it around in the second half and ultimately overtime, scoring 23 points. He knocked down a three-point shot that likely kept the game going with just over a minute left in the game, and then he turned around with just a few seconds left in regulation and hit the three-pointer from tremendously long range that sent the maize and blue into a frenzy. Michigan had no business whatsoever knocking off the Jayhawks, and it is going to have to keep its feet on the ground and not get too high. Burke is the veteran of this bunch, though he is only a sophomore, and he really is the difference maker in this game for the Wolverines.

Michigan vs. Florida Odds at Diamond Sportsbook
#4 Michigan Wolverines +2.5
#3 Florida Gators -2.5
Over/Under 131
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Key #2: Florida has to get its bearings right out of the blocks
The Gators have ultimately put away all three of the teams that they have faced thus far in the tournament, but they really haven’t been particularly challenged by the caliber of team that they have faced. Now, instead of facing a No. 11, No. 14, or No. 15 seed, Florida is taking on a team that was ranked No. 1 in the country once upon a time. The Gators have had a tough time getting into the swing of games early, especially against Florida Gulf Coast and Northwestern State. Of course, Michigan got off to a terrible start against Kansas as well on Friday night, and that leaves a big question for concern as well. However, we saw what the Wolverines could do in the clutch against one of the best teams in America, and if Florida falls behind perhaps by double digits early on, there is a good chance that Michigan will be able to jump on it and force the SEC reps into some real problems.

Key #3: The Gators can’t rely upon their rebounding to make up for poor shooting
Here’s a situation where the stats really don’t tell the whole story. If you look at what the Gators have done shooting the ball in this tournament, you’d be relatively impressed. They are hitting a very respectable 46.4 percent from the floor for the dance, and they are knocking down 37.5 percent of their three-point shots. The numbers aren’t great, but they aren’t terrible either. What you’re not seeing are how many of those made field goals are coming after grabbing offensive rebounds. Florida picked up 28 offensive boards against Northwestern State and Florida Gulf Coast combined, and that’s where a lot of the easy buckets are coming from. Against Minnesota, what we saw this team do was slow things down and take the ball to the rack quite a bit, and the Gators ultimately won that game from the charity stripe. Michigan isn’t going to get dominated on the glass as Florida Gulf Coast and Northwestern State did previously, so Florida is going to need to make a lot more of its mid-range jumpers and outside shots to move on to the Final Four.

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The Duke Blue Devils have literally been going through a Murderer’s Row of teams to get here to the Elite Eight on Sunday afternoon in the Midwest Region. Now, they have to take on the top overall seed in the dance, the Louisville Cardinals on the Elite Eight odds. Check out the keys to the Louisville vs. Duke matchup, as well as the March Madness odds for what should be a great game.

March Madness: Duke Blue Devils vs. Louisville Cardinals
Duke vs. Louisville Location: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
Duke vs. Louisville Date/Time: Sunday, March 31st, 2:10 p.m. (ET)
2013 March Madness On TV: CBS

Key #1: Gorgui Dieng has to be a difference maker
Earlier this season, the Blue Devils and the Cardinals met in the Bahamas, and the end result was a victory for the Dookies. However, in that game, Dieng was on the sidelines out injured. This is where a real difference could be made. Though Louisville did win the rebounding battle that day, there wasn’t much in the way of resistance to F Mason Plumlee. The big man scored 16 points and had seven boards, and included in there were three huge offensive rebounds. Dieng has blocked 16 shots in his last seven games, many of which have come against top flight competition. The offensive numbers definitely don’t have to be there for the big man. Defensively though, Dieng has to block some shots and alter some others to flip the tide in favor of the No. 1 overall seed in this tournament.

Elite Eight Odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook
#2 Duke Blue Devils +3.5
#1 Louisville Cardinals -3.5
Over/Under 137
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Key #2: The Cardinals have to get back to playing “Louisville Defense”
We heard Head Coach Rick Pitino at halftime of the game against the Oregon Ducks on Friday night mention that his team needed to get back to playing “Louisville defense.” The team really didn’t listen all that well, as it allowed 38 points in the second half of the game against the Ducks and were pushed right down to the wire in the game as a result. It’s clear what Pitino means. He has to get his team playing better ball in half-court sets, and there has to be more trapping and more full-court pressuring of the basketball to force more turnovers. We saw this team set the NCAA Tournament record for steals in a game back in the second round against the North Carolina A&T Aggies, and yet against Oregon, a No. 12 seed, the Cardinals only managed seven steals and really only won the game because they shot 53.8 percent from the floor. It’s clear that “Louisville defense” has to get back in the saddle against the Blue Devils if there is going to be another waltz into the Final Four for one of the proudest programs in the country.

Key #3: Seth Curry has to out-Russ Smith Russ Smith
You’re reading that properly. Curry has to figure out how to do his own impersonation of Smith and do it better than the Louisville guard. At times, Smith literally is off the chain. He scored 31 points in the win against Oregon on Friday night, and he has now averaged 27.0 points per game here in the dance. When Smith gets going, no one is going to be able to stop him. Curry looked a little bit like that on Friday as well against a very good Michigan State Spartans outfit. The senior knocked down six of his first seven three-point field goal attempts and finished the game with 29 points. It’s not necessarily a matter of getting the points that will make the difference in this game. The player that makes the biggest shots in the biggest moments is going to be the one that leads his team to Atlanta for the Final Four.

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The nets are going to be coming down at Staples Center on Saturday night, as either the Ohio State Buckeyes or the Wichita State Shockers are going to be off to the Final Four in Atlanta. Join us for our Elite Eight predictions, as we analyze the March Madness odds for what should be a remarkable clash between David and Goliath in the West Regional Final.

March Madness: Wichita State Shockers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes
Wichita State vs. Ohio State Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Wichita State vs. Ohio State Date/Time: Friday, March 29th, 7:05 p.m. ET
March Madness Television Coverage: CBS

Key #1: Someone on Wichita State is going to have to put a body on Deshaun Thomas
Can anyone stop this guy? We’ve been talking about Ohio State for weeks now, and the man that is always in the center of the discussion is Thomas. This is a man with great range, is lanky, can score from anywhere on the court, and can play defense as well. He’s legitimately got every tool in the bag that you would ask from a college basketball player, and he hasn’t been stopped here in the dance. Thomas put up 20 against Arizona on Thursday night, and he now has 20, 22, and 24 points in his three NCAA Tournament games. Wichita State has seen a lot of great players along the way, including a potential National Player of the Year in F Kelly Olynyk. However, Olynyk scored 26 points and put up nine boards against the Shockers as well. WSU has to do a better job on Thomas than it did on Olynyk if it realistically wants to have any chance of surviving against a very athletic team.

Wichita State vs. Ohio State Odds at Diamond Sportsbook
#9 Wichita State Shockers +4.5
#2 Ohio State Buckeyes -4.5
Over/Under 130
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Key #2: See the three. Be the three.
The three-point line is always crucial in these NCAA Tournament games, and the reason that Ohio State has survived to this point is because of the long range shot. The Buckeyes would have probably been knocked out of the dance in the first weekend by Iowa State had they not knocked down nine three-point shots, including the one by G Aaron Craft that won the game essentially at the gun. Ohio State is now knocking down a whopping 50.0 percent of its three-point shots, and it is averaging over seven threes per game. That’s a far shout from where the team was for most of the season. The Buckeyes were shooting just 35% from long range prior to the dance this season. Wichita State meanwhile, has been all over the place from beyond the arc in the dance. The team went a very respectable 5-of-12 against La Salle on Thursday, and that’s about what we are expecting to see again on Saturday. However, if there is an extreme to be seen from long range, we’ve seen both ends of it with the Missouri Valley reps. Wichita State hit 14-of-28 from downtown against Gonzaga in the Round of 32, but that came on the heels of hitting just 2-of-20 against Pittsburgh in the second round of the dance. As is usually the case, whichever team can stroke the three more successfully is going to be the one to watch out for come Saturday.

Key #3: Ohio State needs to make a renewed effort defensively
Understandably, NCAA Tournament games tend to be a little odd by nature. Teams have to do things that they aren’t used to doing just to advance, games sometimes take a little while to get going, and every now and again, you see just a ton of scores in the final three minutes of the game or so as one team is trying to make a feverish comeback on the other. For Ohio State though, it is extremely odd to see a team scoring 70 points against it. During the regular season, it only happened seven times in 36 games. Now all of a sudden, all three teams here in the NCAA Tournament that it has faced have been able to get to 70. It’s a Catch-22 for sure. While we’re thrilled to see the Buckeyes do a heck of a lot better on the offensive end of the court, we don’t think that they can win a National Championship if they continue to play defense like this. They’ll need to really buckle down on Saturday against the Shockers, as the challenges are getting more and more difficult on the road to the Final Four.

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With all of the talk of just how good the Big Ten was all season long, it is the Big East that is going to be showcased on the road to the Final Four on Saturday, when the #3 Marquette Golden Eagles and the #4 Syracuse Orange do battle in what will likely be the last time we ever see a pair of current Big East teams play against each other. Don’t miss our Marquette vs. Syracuse predictions and keys to the game for what should be an exciting encounter to start the weekend.

March Madness: Syracuse Orange vs. Marquette Golden Eagles
Syracuse vs. Marquette Location: Verizon Center, Washington DC
Syracuse vs. Marquette Date/Time: Saturday, March 30th, 4:30 p.m. (ET)
2013 March Madness On TV: CBS

Key #1: The Orange have to stay out of foul trouble this time around
Syracuse hasn’t had any issues here in the dance whatsoever, but it did lose the first time that it faced Marquette earlier this season. The game in Milwaukee basically ensured that the Golden Eagles would have a shot at a share of the Big East title, while it also proved to be a game that kept the Orange on the wrong side of the equation. In that game, G Brandon Triche ultimately fouled out, while F James Southerland ended with four fouls. The end result saw Marquette take a whopping 35 free throws in comparison to just seven for the Orange. Blind aggression has really been what has led Syracuse here to the Elite Eight, and it is going to be that blind aggression that will lead the team in this one when push comes to shove as well if it is given the opportunity to do so. The Orange don’t have the depth to ultimately be in a lot of foul trouble though, and it is key for them to stay out of it against Marquette.

Elite Eight Odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook
#4 Syracuse Orange -3.5
#3 Marquette Golden Eagles +3.5
Over/Under 128
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Key #2: The lengthy Golden Eagles have to continue playing defense in the half court
What we love about Big East basketball is that a lot of the teams play very similar styles, and it isn’t all that often that a team wins a game and the casual observer is left to wonder why. For anyone that has watched the three games that Marquette has played here in March Madness, the equation has been particularly simple: The Golden Eagles have to force the game into the half court, and from there, they have to let their athleticism take over. Marquette only allowed 62.8 points per game this season, so perhaps we shouldn’t be all that shocked that it has had three very good defensive games in the dance. However, the three clubs that have faced Marquette have combined to shoot under 40 percent from the floor, and that’s the type of number that can really stun some neutral observers. Syracuse has made a habit of forcing teams into bad shots, but the Golden Eagles have been pulling off that same stunt as well in the second season.

Key #3: Three-Pointers have to fly in for Golden Eagles
Marquette is a team that loves to get inside the paint and try to get things to happen. The first time that these two met this year, they only took 26 shots from inside the arc for the whole game, as opposed to 21 that came from the outside. What nearly cost the Golden Eagles that game is the fact that they shot just 5-of-21, 23.8 percent from three-point land. For the season, they’re only just barely shooting over 30% from long range, but here in the dance, they are knocking down a much more respectable 36.4 percent from downtown. It doesn’t take all that many threes to win a game, but the ones that are taken are going to have to be hit. Syracuse is just too good in the 2-3 zone to ultimately allow gobs of points in the paint. Just look back at the game against Indiana. The Orange literally had a block party against the Hoosiers, swatting away a stunning 11-of-47 shot attempts. Marquette won’t be able to challenge on the inside, so it has to take the game outside and be effective out there as a result.

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The 2013 NCAA Tournament continues on Friday night in the Midwest Region, where the Duke Blue Devils and the Michigan State Spartans are going to renew what has become a very important rivalry over the course of the last few years. Head Coach Tom Izzo’s Spartans are the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region, and they are lined in what basically is a pick ’em game against the No. 2 seeded Blue Devils, who have to still feel slighted over the fact that they aren’t on the top line in the dance.

March Madness: Michigan State Spartans vs. Duke Blue Devils
Michigan State vs. Duke Location: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
Michigan State vs. Duke Date/Time: Friday, March 29th, 9:45 p.m. ET
March Madness Television Coverage: CBS

Key #1: Ryan Kelly needs to make his first legitimate appearance of the tourney
It’s clear that when the Blue Devils are at their best, Ryan Kelly is at his best as well. This is a man that is going to be a matchup nightmare for the significantly less athletic Spartans to try to handle if he gets going. Kelly is every bit of 6’11”, and he can step back from the outside and knock down some big time shots. However, Kelly has gone four straight games now, scoring a total of just 25 points in those outings, and that’s just not good enough at this level for a team that is expected to challenge for a spot in the Final Four this week. If Kelly is hitting his shots, either F Adreian Payne or F Derrick Nix is going to have to step out and try to guard him on the perimeter, and if that turns out to be the case, the battle on the glass is going to be won by the Dookies in easy form. Kelly really didn’t have to exist against Albany or Creighton because those teams weren’t going to challenge F Mason Plumlee on the glass anyway, but if Kelly can’t step back and draw a defender away from the basket, Plumlee could have some problems.

Michigan State vs. Duke Odds at Diamond Sportsbook
#3 Michigan State Spartans +2
#2 Duke Blue Devils -2
Over/Under 134.5
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Key #2: Keith Appling’s shoulder had better be good to go
The Spartans have put together two very impressive games here in the dance, but there is a big, big difference between playing against Memphis, playing against Valpo, and playing against Duke. The Blue Devils have legitimate NBA-type talent from one to five in this lineup, and there is no doubt that they are going to be in it for the full 40 minutes. That means that the Spartans have to be playing at full strength as well, and that might be a tad difficult. Appling hurt his shoulder in the win over Memphis on Saturday, and he ended that game with just two points, two assists, and a rebound. Granted, others like G Gary Harris were able to pick up the slack at that point for Sparty, but we just don’t know if there is enough talent here on this team to come up with a big time effort against the Blue Devils to carry the load for a player that might be carrying an injury.

Key #3: The Dookies have to be ready to get down and dirty
The one thing about the ACC this season is that there really weren’t a lot of teams that willingly played the knock down, drag out games that the NCAA Tournament is known for. This is where we are going to learn a heck of a lot about Duke and its prospects of not just winning this game, but its chances of winning the whole enchilada as well. When you really look at the games that the Blue Devils played this year, they really weren’t forced into a lot of half-court type of games. The Virginia Cavaliers did it to the Dookies in Charlottesville, and the hosts won that game 73-68. Duke does have a win over the Ohio State Buckeyes to its credit as well from back in November of the same caliber, but that game was a long time ago, and obviously, OSU is a heck of a lot better now than it was before. However, with so many great teams that could play some big time defense left in the dance, the Blue Devils are going to need to prove that they can play this gritty type of game if they are going to win and be successful.

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Either a team that came out of the First Four or one that has made a magical run from the Missouri Valley Conference will find their way to the Elite Eight on Thursday night, as we make our March Madness predictions for the clash between the La Salle Explorers and the Wichita State Shockers.

March Madness: La Salle Explorers vs. Wichita State Shockers
La Salle vs. Wichita State Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
La Salle vs. Wichita State Date/Time: Thursday, March 28th, 10:17 p.m. ET
March Madness Television Coverage: TBS

Key #1: Wichita State has to continue to be a strong three-point shooting team
Remember when the VCU Rams ran from the First Four to the Final Four two seasons ago? It’s not out of the question that La Salle could do the same this year, but the run seems very similar for Wichita State as well. That VCU team was a relatively average three-point shooting team that caught fire in the dance and started literally knocking down everything left and right. Now, the Shockers are doing the exact same thing. Wichita State hit 50% of its threes on Saturday when it knocked off the top seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs, and that’s a far cry from the 33.7 percent from three-point land that the team has hit for the season. This time of year, it’s all about the 3-ball, and knocking them down at that rate is clearly going to be one of the keys to get this team into the Elite Eight, and perhaps even the Final Four beyond. If the threes aren’t falling at that type of clip though, the Shockers are going to be in a heck of a lot of trouble against a very athletic team.

La Salle vs. Wichita State Odds at Diamond Sportsbook
#13 La Salle Explorers +4
#9 Wichita State Shockers -4
Over/Under 135.5
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Key #2: Someone needs to figure out how to stop Ramon Galloway
Had we looked at the keys to the game for La Salle last round against the Ole Miss Rebels, we would have said that someone needed to slow down G Marshall Henderson. Instead of doing that though, Galloway just stayed shot for shot with him for the full 40 minutes. Galloway really looks a heck of a lot like Henderson did for the Rebels for all of those games, as now, the La Salle leader is averaging 21.3 points per game in the dance in this, his senior season. With nearly 1,600 points in his collegiate career, there is no doubt that Galloway is a man that knows how to take over a game, and after hitting six threes on Sunday against Ole Miss, he can really flex his muscles as one of the best players in the tournament in this one against Wichita State.

Key #3: Wichita State can’t get killed on the offensive glass
Rebounding hasn’t been an issue for the Shockers all year long, but all of a sudden against Gonzaga on Saturday, all of that changed. Wichita State gave up a whopping 20 offensive rebounds to the Zags, the most that it had allowed in a game all season long. That isn’t going to cut it, needless to say. La Salle is actually a terrible rebounding team, as it is one of the few teams in the tourney that has allowed more rebounds per game this season (31.5) than it has picked up (31.3). The Explorers don’t have F Elias Harris or F Kelly Olynyk or any of the other bigs that Gonzaga brings to the table, so this should be a much different type of challenge for a team that is used to physically overwhelming its foes. If the Shockers can’t win the battle on the glass, particularly the battle on the defensive side of the court, they’ll be in a ton of trouble. Possessions absolutely have to be limited to one and done as much as possible for Wichita State to knock off La Salle.

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Our 2013 NCAA Tournament predictions continue on Thursday, March 28th with the Sweet 16. Join us as the #3 Marquette Golden Eagles and the #2 Miami Hurricanes go to war in what should be a remarkable opening game of the fourth round of the NCAA Tournament.

March Madness: Marquette Golden Eagles vs. Miami Hurricanes
Marquette vs. Miami Location: Verizon Center, Washington DC
Marquette vs. Miami Date/Time: Thursday, March 28th, 7:15 p.m. (ET)
2013 March Madness On TV: CBS

Key #1: Someone aside from Vander Blue has to step up for the Golden Eagles
Marquette seems like it is a team that has nine lives right now. The squad was down and out in the first round of the dance against the Davidson Wildcats, and it was F Vander Blue that hit the shot that ended up keeping the team alive for another day. Blue came up in a big time way again in the third round for the Golden Eagles against the Butler Bulldogs, scoring 29 points against a tremendously stingy defense. However, against Miami, someone aside from just Blue is going to have to bring something to the table to advance. The rest of the team is only averaging 14.5 field goals per game here in the NCAA Tournament, and the club is shooting just .354 from the field. That really isn’t going to come closing to cutting it. This really isn’t a team that hits all that many shots from the outside either. Blue has five three-point shots made in two games. The rest of the Golden Eagles have just four for the tournament. Whether it be F Davante Gardner, F Jamil Wilson, G Junior Cadougan, or any of the other Golden Eagles, someone is going to have to step up and help out Blue if they are going to beat the best team that they have faced in this tournament to date.

Sweet 16 Odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook
#3 Marquette Golden Eagles +5.5
#2 Miami Hurricanes +5.5
Over/Under 127
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Key #2: The Hurricanes need to take advantage of a smaller Marquette front line
Miami has a huge edge against most teams in terms of their size and their depth on the inside. The combination of C Reggie Johnson, F Julian Gamble, and F Kenny Kadji should be able to rip down at least 20 boards virtually every single night, especially against teams that are just far too small to keep up with them. Update: Johnson is out of the lineup for the Hurricanes with a knee injury. However, the Illinois Fighting Illini, a team that doesn’t have a single rebounder averaging five boards per game this year, actually outrebounded the Hurricanes 36-33 on Sunday in the Round of 32, and that isn’t going to cut it in this one. Miami would have probably been beaten in that game if not for the fact that G Brandon Paul and G DJ Richardson combined to shoot just 3-of-19 from beyond the arc. The key is going to have to be on the glass here against Marquette. These Golden Eagles are undersized, and there isn’t a big time rebounder on the team. There is no excuse whatsoever for the Canes to not win the battle on the boards, and if they don’t, they could be knocked out of this tournament.

Key #3: Buzz Williams has to do a good job managing the game
Head Coach Buzz Williams is truly a tremendously underrated coach. This is a man that took a Marquette team that was picked to finish in the middle of the Big East this season and made it the regular season co-champs and ultimately a No. 3 seed in the dance. We know that Williams pushed a lot of the right buttons down the stretch in both of the first two games of this tournament, and we know that he is going to have to push the right ones again in this one. Miami has the superior athleticism, and as a result, it is going to make its runs. The question is going to be how Marquette handles those runs. Timeout usage is going to be key for the full 40 minutes, as will substitution patterns. The Hurricanes can handle any style that Marquette will throw their way, and Williams is going to have to mix it up, find the right combination of guys, and ultimately take advantage of whatever opportunities the Hurricanes give him if there is any hope of getting into the Elite Eight.

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