After a grueling college basketball season trimmed the list of possible champions from 351 to 68 in a matter of weeks, we've now gone from 68 down to the Final Four. That's right, one of the best weekends in college basketball is here with an unusual quartet of teams vying for the right to be the 2019 NCAA National Champions in Virginia, Michigan State, Texas Tech and Auburn.
We could be looking at a first-time champion in the 81st edition of the NCAA Tournament. Michigan State is the only one of the teams remaining to have won a national championship, winning in 1979 and 2000.
Texas Tech has the highest margin of victory in the tournament, winning by an average of 15 points, but is the underdog against Michigan State. Do our CBS Sports experts expect the Red Raiders' run to continue? Meanwhile, can Auburn, who has never even reached a Final Four, keep its Cinderella season alive against the vaunted Cavaliers?
Our experts were all asked to pick the winners for each Final Four game -- both straight-up and against the spread -- and most of them are on the same page.
Check out all of our predictions below, and be sure to visit our NCAA Tournament picks guide for expert picks throughout the tournament.
Saturday's Final Four
No. 1 Virginia (-5.5) vs. No. 5 Auburn -- 6:09 p.m. on CBS: This is a game that will be a battle of pace. Virginia only allowed opponents to take 52.1 field goals per game, meanwhile Auburn 61.1 field goals attempted per game. Virginia will try to take care of the ball and force shots late in the shot clock. The Tigers will look to force turnovers and get shots up quickly. Another key point in this game will be how efficient Auburn is on 3-pointers. The Tigers average over 11 3-pointers made per game, the third-highest mark in college basketball. Virginia is ranked fourth in the country, only allowing opponents to shoot 28.7 percent from 3-point range. Pick: Virginia -5.5
So who wins Auburn vs. Virginia? And which side of the spread can you bank on in over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Auburn vs. Virginia spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up more than $4,000 on its college basketball picks, and find out.
No. 2 Michigan State (-3.5) vs. No. 3 Texas Tech -- 8:49 p.m. on CBS: Michigan State is coming off of a one-point win over Duke in the Elite Eight in which it forced 17 turnovers. This is a matchup of two elite defenses. Texas Tech and Michigan State are both ranked in the top-three of defensive field goal percentage. Who's offense will be able to create better shots, Cassius Winston and the Spartans or Jarrett Culver and the Red Raiders? Pick: Texas Tech +3.5
Who wins Texas Tech vs. Michigan State? And which side of the spread hits in more than 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Texas Tech vs. Michigan State spread you should back, all from an advanced computer model that's up over $4,000 the past two seasons.
