Butler vs Kansas State Elite Eight 2010 NCAA Tournament Predictions, Picks & Odds: The West Region all comes down to this: No. 5 Butler and No. 2 Kansas State battling it out for a chance to play in Indianapolis next weekend. Today's Regional Final is set to tip off at 4:30pm ET at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah (CBS). Elite Eight 2010 NCAA Tournament Predictions, Picks & Odds at online bookmaker SPORTSBETTING.com have the Wildcats listed as a -4 against the spread favorite.
It is not usually pretty, but Butler somehow finds a way to win, regardless of the level of its competition. The Bulldogs 
were not going to get any points for beauty on Thursday night against Syracuse, but ask them if they care. In dispatching the West's top seed 63-59, Brad Steven's troops put Butler on the brink of its first ever Final Four appearance, and in its home town of Indy no less.
The Bulldogs used their usual receipe of tough defense and methodical offense to eliminate the Orange, who looked almost invincible in rounds one and two. Butler held Syracuse to 48 shots attempts and they had 13 steals while forcing 18 Orange turnovers. On offense they got three players in double figures, led by forward Gordon Hayward's 17.
Butler, which had never won a regional semifinal game until Thursday night, garnered its 23rd straight victory by beating Jim Boeheim's squad.
Kansas State, at 29-7, is coming off a classic 101-96 double overtime Sweet Sixteen win against Xavier. If anyone questioned the heart, toughness or talent of the Wildcats or the Musketeers prior to the Tournament they were not doing so after Thursday's epic clash. Both teams displayed all the traits of a Final Four team, but, unfortunately, only one team could walk away victorious.
The Wildcats gave a superb team effort, but three individuals stood out in a big way, those being Jacob Pullen, Denis Clemente, and Curtis Kelly. Pullen, who nailed two critical threes in the second overtime, had 28 points while going 6-of-12 from beyond the arc. Clemente had 25 points, five rebounds, and five assists while Kelly had 21 points, eight rebounds, and five blocks.
Expect this to be a tough game today, but Kansas State, fatigue or not, is a bad matchup for the Bulldogs. The Wildcats have the big people to bang inside and dominate the glass against the Bulldogs and their guards are a disruptive force on both ends of the court. Butler will go down with a fight, and could cover the four point spread, but Frank Martin gets Kansas State to its first Final Four since 1951.
SPORTSBETTING.com Butler vs Kansas State Elite Eight 2010 NCAA Tournament Predictions, Picks & Odds:
Butler Bulldogs +4 (-110), Over 134.5 (-110), +170 (Moneyline)
Kansas State Wildcats -4 (-110), Under 134.5 (-110), -200 (Moneyline)
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