March Madness picks, score predictions for every Elite Eight game

Whatever drama was lacking towards the end of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament came in spades during the Sweet 16. Two No. 1 seeds went down and NC State's magic carpet ride continued as the Wolfpack advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1986, setting up four interesting matchups to come over the next two days.

Who will punch their ticket to Phoenix and reach the Final Four? Read on for picks for each regional final, starting with the East.

Elite Eight Predictions

East Region: No. 1 UConn vs. No. 3 Illinois - Saturday, March 30, 6:09 p.m. ET (TBS)

If you love offense, this is going to be the game for you. Illinois' red-hot march continued as their explosive offense outslugged Iowa State's top-ranked defense in the Elite Eight while UConn bullied San Diego State to get to this point.

The Fighting Illini's offense runs through Terrence Shannon, who has been averaging 31.2 points per game since the start of the Big Ten Tournament. UConn has more firepower, however, and their stronger defense will slow down Shannon enough to return to the Final Four.

Prediction: UConn Wins 85-75

West Region: No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 6 Clemson - Saturday, March 30 at 8:49 p.m. ET (TBS)

This is the most chaotic regional after the top two seeds were upset in the Sweet 16, leaving us with a matchup that feels more appropriate for the College Football Playoff than the Elite Eight. Both programs are bidding for their first trip to the Final Four so it will be a showcase of Alabama's analytically driven offense against a rugged Clemson defense that smothered Caleb Love and Arizona on Thursday night.

These teams met during the regular season with the Tigers winning 85-77 in Tuscaloosa during the ACC/SEC Challenge. Clemson already knows how to slow down the Crimson Tide's offense and they'll use the blueprint from their late November triumph to reach their first Final Four.

Prediction: Clemson Wins 82-74

Midwest Region: No. 1 Purdue vs. No. 2 Tennessee - Sunday, March 31 At 2:20 p.m. ET (CBS)

The Midwest is the only region where the chalk held to form as the top two seeds are playing in Detroit for a spot in the Final Four. Gonzaga gave Purdue a scare on Friday night before the Boilermakers pulled away while Tennessee hung on in a wild back-and-forth affair with Creighton to reach their first regional final in Rick Barnes' tenure.

While the Volunteers have more firepower than ever with Dalton Knecht having a strong NCAA Tournament, they don't really have a great option to match up with Zach Edey down low. This will be another regular season rematch after Purdue beat Tennessee 71-67 at the Maui Invitational in November. Expect a similarly tight game here that the Boilermakers will escape with if Tennessee is without Santiago Vescovi, who missed the Sweet 16 due to an illness.

Prediction: Purdue Wins 66-63

South Region: No. 4 Duke vs. No. 11 NC State - Sunday, March 31 At 5:05 p.m. ET (CBS)

The ACC is guaranteed a Final Four participant from this game as NC State's magic carpet ride continued with an upset of Marquette while Duke scored its first win in the NCAA Tournament as a lower seed in 30 years with their upset of Houston. This will be the third meeting in the past 27 days for the two ACC rivals as the Blue Devils won by 15 on the road during the regular season before the Wolfpack upset them in the ACC Tournament ten days later.

It has certainly been a charmed life for the Wolfpack in March, who faced a 14-seed in the second round and saw an elite perimeter shooting team in Marquette fail to hit the broad side of a barn on Friday night. That luck runs out as Duke is peaking right now and has the physicality to make life difficult for D.J. Horne, who has been driving NC State's magical March run.

Prediction: Duke Wins 80-68