Tennessee had a scare in their first round match-up against Louisiana. Now, they face a Duke team that has been on rolling on both ends of the court, winners of 10 straight. But now the Blue Devils face the second best defense in terms of efficiency in the Volunteers. And while Duke has been very efficient offensively, Tennessee is, surprisingly, right there with them over each teams last three games. The Blue Devils have edge from three, 40 percent to 34.3 percent, and Tennessee has the edge from the floor, 55.4 percent to 52.2 percent. This game may come down to defense and, especially in March, that’s the team I’m willing to back. I’m on Tennessee.

I've been betting Duke incessantly over its winning stretch and I don't plan to stop against a Tennessee team that looked far from impressive in the second half against Louisiana. Duke is led by mostly freshmen, but they are playing like upperclassmen at this juncture of the season. Jeremy Roach also provides just enough veteran leadership to captain the ship. Tennessee will really miss point guard Zakai Ziegler (ACL) in this one and the Vols' stretches of erratic offense and turnovers catch up to them. Duke covers yet again.

It worked in the first round so let's fade Rick Barnes again. Barnes has 19 losses prior to the Sweet 16, the most ever by any head coach. The Volunteers only won by three points as 11.5-point favorites in their first round game. On the other side, the Blue Devils have been rolling. They have won 10 straight games and covered the spread in five straight games. The Blue Devils made the 30-win Oral Roberts Golden Eagles look like a high school team. This spread is too low for how well the Blue Devils are playing. Lay the points.

One of the many marquee matchups for Saturday's slate of NCAA Tournament games, this one should feature it all. Duke is on absolute fire right now having covered five straight and is arguably the hottest team in the country. Tennessee survived a late scare Thursday vs. Louisiana however during March Madness survive and advance is all that matters. Duke's elite offensive production vs. Tennessee's stellar defensive efforts, this one will be fun. Look for Duke to find the gaps in Rick Barnes' defense early and force the Vols to play a quicker-paced style offensively which quite honestly will help them overall. Tennessee's main offensive problem is 2nd half lulls which lead to long stretches without scoring, luckily their defense usually has them up by double digits. Might not find that advantage here which should lead to Tennessee's offense to quit thinking and just start playing ball as they know how to do. Look for both offenses to go, play the Over.

Guess I'll just play this Saturday game now from Orlando as it likely only rises with Duke the most public team in the country. If this were a night game, I'd think about going. Not sure why it's not a prime-time matchup as it's clearly the marquee game of the day and on CBS. UT simply isn't the same without sophomore point guard Zakai Zeigler, going 2-2 without the All-SEC second-team pick and semifinalist for National Defensive Player of the Year since he tore his ACL. When Duke has had every scholarship player available this season, it is 19-1 and that loss was in OT. I'm playing the Dukies today +375 at DK to win the East.

Tennessee was up by 18 points against Louisiana in the second half and nearly gave it away, and in doing so exposed more of the offensive woes that we've seen from the Vols coming down the stretch. Rick Barnes' team got some good looks near the basket and some offensive rebounds for easy points, but those opportunities won't be there against a Duke team that's got great size and terrific discipline on the defensive end. The Blue Devils have a more talented roster and better recent form, so I'll comfortably lay the short number.