The Elite 8 2010 is set and the NCAA Tournament brackets updates. The top sports handicappers are winning at a rate faster than the GMP Diecast.
Only one region in this year's NCAA Tournament has gone chalk and that's the East, where No. 1 Kentucky will face No. 2 West Virginia on Saturday night in Syracuse for a trip to the Final Four. UK has opened as a 4-point favorite on Bodog's NCAA Basketball Odds.
Other than a bit of a slow start, Kentucky (35-2, 20-15 ATS) didn't have much trouble with Cornell on Thursday night in a 62-45 victory. The Cats have yet to have a game this tournament that was decided by less than the 17 points they beat Cornell by. Kentucky hasn't been in the Final Four since winning its last national title in 1998.
West Virginia (30-6, 16-19 ATS) didn't miss injured starting point guard Darryl "Truck" Bryant too much in its 69-56 over Washington on Thursday (it will Saturday). Kevin Jones stepped up with star Da'Sean Butler having an off night, with Jones scoring 18 points with eight rebounds. WVU committed an uncharacteristic 23 turnovers with different guys now handling the ball – the Mountaineers entered averaging just 11.6 turnovers per game. It was the first time West Virginia had committed more than 20 turnovers in a game this season.
If WVU's turnover problems show up again and Butler doesn't come up big against Kentucky, then WVU is toast. But the Mountaineers also are playing terrific on defense, not having allowed a team to score 60 points since the end of the regular season. WVU is 13-0 this season when holding a foe under 60. This is the fourth time a Bob Huggins-coached team has reached the Elite Eight, with Hugs going 1-2 in the previous three.
Saturday's game could well come down to rebounding. WVU, which is second in the nation in offensive rebounding, killed Washington on boards and is 25-3 this year when outrebounding its opponent. But with Patrick Patterson, DeMarcus Cousins and Daniel Orton, among others, Kentucky is a very good rebounding team and will have the size advantage in the frontcourt.
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