T.M. Selection: Duke.

I like Duke to cover the spread against Arkansas in this game on Saturday. Duke has looked good in their games lately and they just keep winning games no matter how close they are in the game they manage to pull away at the end. They have won 3 games in a row now and their wins have been getting closer in score the deeper they have gone into this tournament but I think they are riding the pure emotions of being part of the final season for Mike Krzyzewski and I think they are going to keep riding that emotion here. These players know that as soon as they lose a game his career is over so they are doing everything they can to leave it all on the court and send him home with 1 final National Championship. They had to battle in their game against Michigan State and couldn't pull away until the end but they stepped up in the final minutes of that game and pulled ahead when they needed to. The same thing happened in their most recent game too since they were trailing Texas tech the entire time but again, they stepped up at the end and took the lead sealing their fate. I think they have a lot of momentum on their side considering the story line and I expect them to play at their best here to keep on their deep run here. Arkansas also has a lot of momentum after their win against Gonzaga but they haven't looked great in the 1st 2 rounds of this tournament with 2 close wins by less than 5 points. Their win against Gonzaga took a huge defensive effort and they had to grind out that entire game because as soon as they let up with their defense Gonzaga would storm back and take the lead again. I think this might be a bit of a let down spot for Arkansas since they were already looking shaky in their previous games and I think Duke will be tough to stop here now that they are getting so close to the final four again. I expect Duke to turn on the jets here and have their best game of the tournament here. I like Duke to cover the spread here.

T.M. Prediction: 78-70 Duke.