Thursday's Sweet 16 games had it all.
We had an upset with Notre Dame pulling away to beat Wichita St. 81-70 as a 2-point underdog (despite being a No. 3 seed against a No. 7). There was a great battle between Wisconsin and North Carolina, with the Badgers, who closed as 6.5-point favorites, barely covering the spread with the final score of 79-72.
We had an epic blowout with Kentucky routing West Virginia 78-39 as a 13-point favorite; and we had another epic battle out West, with Arizona outlasting Xavier 68-60 but failing to cover as a 12-point favorite.
When all was said and done, the higher seeds won all four games, but favorites and underdogs split 2-2 against the spread. Over/unders also were split 2-2. Heading into Friday's action (here are our picks, including a video, if you're reading this before those games tip off), underdogs lead 29-23 ATS (55.8 percent), while unders are ahead 27-23-2 (54 percent).
But this column is for Saturday's regional semifinals. We have a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup and a No. 1 vs. No. 3. I'll give my take on the first game, the West Regional final -- set for 6:05 p.m. ET -- and then Andrew Lange and I will give opposite opinions in the nightcap.
Note: Best bets are marked with an asterisk (*).
West Regional
No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers vs. No. 2 Arizona Wildcats
Westgate line: Arizona minus-1.5; over/under 133.5
PickCenter intel
Tuley: This is one of the matchups that everyone was looking forward to when the brackets were announced. It is a rematch of last year's regional final, won 64-63 in overtime by No. 2 seed Wisconsin (Arizona was the 1-seed). Now the roles are reversed, and oddsmakers have made Arizona the small favorite (it was as high as Arizona minus-2 at the Westgate). Our CBB Vegas Rankings are in agreement, as they have Arizona as a 1.5-point favorite over Wisconsin.