March Madness bracket betting: Picks for Sunday's Elite Eight games

On Saturday evening, it sunk in that either Florida Atlantic, Creighton or San Diego State would be playing for a national championship on the final Monday of the college basketball season.

This NCAA tournament has been unique, with no No. 1 seeds making the Elite Eight and a group of schools we're not used to seeing this deep in March Madness looking to make history. The rest of the Final Four gets set on Sunday with two more Elite Eight games. Here are the picks against the spread for Sunday's games, with the odds from BetMGM:

Creighton (-2.5) over San Diego State

What a spot for each team. By Sunday afternoon, one of them will be on their way to the first Final Four in program history. San Diego State was a No. 5 seed and Creighton was a No. 6, but both teams are good. They just didn't get great seeds.

Creighton had injuries early and had a six-game losing streak. You don't often see Final Four teams with a losing streak like that on their resume, and that's a reason the Bluejays' seed was what it was. For those who follow college basketball year round, they knew Creighton was the hot team of the offseason as every analyst tried to push the Bluejays higher and higher into their top 25. Some claimed they'd be a top-five team. They officially landed at No. 9 on the AP preseason top 25. That's the kind of talent they had. Even after that losing streak, it didn't click great for them. There were stretches of good play but nothing dominant — until the NCAA tournament. Creighton has won its games by 9, 9 and 11 points, but have never really being challenged. It's a big team that is good on offense and defense. In retrospect, it's not a huge surprise the Bluejays are in the Elite Eight.

San Diego State isn't quite as balanced as Creighton. The Aztecs are incredible on defense, but not great on offense. But they've been more than good enough on offense in this tournament. A win over No. 1 seed Alabama was one of the signature moments of this tournament. The Mountain West has earned a reputation for being a disappointment in March, but SDSU broke through.

I like SDSU, but lean to Creighton to win. It's a team that always had a high ceiling and we're finally seeing it. This should be a great game among two teams that usually aren't alive at this point in the tournament.

Texas (-3.5) over Miami

Like UConn and Gonzaga, Texas is another team in the Elite Eight that had some basketball history. Not much though. Texas made Final Fours in 1943 and 1947, then another in 2003. That's it. That's more than Miami, which has never been to a Final Four.

Texas has had a weird season. The Longhorns fired coach Chris Beard after he was charged with felony domestic violence, and the charges were later dropped. The Longhorns weren't quite as good over the rest of the season (they were 8-6 from Jan. 17 through the end of the regular season), but they had moments of greatness. Two blowout wins over Kansas, in the regular-season finale and again in the Big 12 championship game, showed their upside. It's a team full of seniors and they haven't looked scared of the big moments.

Miami will be a tough matchup. It hasn't been to a Final Four but coach Jim Larrañaga has, with George Mason during a magical run in 2006. The Hurricanes are well coached and have a fantastic backcourt that fuels a strong offense. Defense is the issue. The Hurricanes rank 104th in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com, and usually teams that rank that low don't reach Final Fours.

Defense hasn't been a big problem for Miami in the NCAA tournament, but I still prefer Texas as the better, more well-rounded team. I'll take the Longhorns to get back to the Final Four with a late cover too.

Saturday's Elite Eight record: 2-0

Tournament to date: 30-31