NCAA TOURNAMENT: SATURDAY ELITE 8 GAMES OPEN THREAD

After the upset-filled madness of the first day of the tournament, things have settled into pretty much scratch results (aside from the East region).  The West regional final is pure chalk: #1 Wisconsin versus #2 Arizona, while the Midwest regional final is pretty darn close to chalk: #1 Kentucky versus #3 Notre Dame. That doesn't mean the teams are evenly matched, though.  Wisconsin and Arizona appear to be very evenly matched, but Kentucky is an enormous favorite over Notre Dame.

Vegas and KenPom agree: Kentucky should roll.  Vegas has the 'cats as a -11 point favorite over Notre Dame, while KenPom has them as an 82% favorite to beat the Fighting Irish.  Notre Dame does rank #2 in the nation in offensive efficiency -- they'll need every bit of that offensive potency to keep up with Kentucky.  (Although if Kentucky plays they way they did against West Virginia on Thursday night, well, it probably won't matter -- no one in college is beating that team.)

Arizona and Wisconsin looks like the far more intriguing game.  Vegas and KenPom both have Arizona favored -- but only just.  The other 'cats are -1 point favorites per Vegas, while KenPom has them as a 67% favorite to advance to the Final Four.  Arizona has an elite offense (#3 in the nation), but they'll have to slow down an equally elite offense (#1 in the nation) for the Badgers.  Almost exactly a year ago, these same two teams played an overtime thriller that Wisconsin won, 64-63.  For the sake of entertainment, let's hope the sequel today is just as good.

If you're not near a TV, you can stream the games through March Madness Live.

The usual rules apply.