NCAA Tournament Elite 8 Open Thread

It's going to be difficult to top last night's Kentucky vs. Notre Dame game, but there are still two excellent games this afternoon.

#7 Michigan State (-2.5) vs. #4 Louisville 2:20 p.m. on CBS

In a battle of two hall of fame coaches, Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartans are favored by 2.5 points. Both teams had very difficult paths to get to this point, but they survived, and will play today for a trip to the Final Four.  Michigan State's offense is 13th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency, while Louisville is 5th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency.  On the reverse side, Louisville is a poor shooting team, while Michigan State has strong field goal percentage defense. The problem for the Spartans is that their defense does not force many turnovers.

I'll pick Sparty to win this one, but I wouldn't touch the line. If I'm making any bet in this game, then I think it would be Louisville on the moneyline bet.

#2 Gonzaga vs. #1 Duke (-2) 5:05 p.m. on CBS

If you like offense, then this is the game for you. Duke and Gonzaga are third and fourth, respectively, in adjusted offensive efficiency. The over/under for this game is 144.5, which means that this should be an up-and-down contest. Personally, I like the OVER in that one, but I strongly discourage anyone from taking my gambling advice.

Despite being from the West Coast Conference, Gonzaga actually has more size than this Duke team. Przemek Karnowski and Domantas Sabonis are two excellent bigs for Gonzaga, and will frustrate Duke's Jahlil Okafor at times. Still, I'll take Duke in this one.

Should be another excellent day of hoops.