The University of Kentucky’s dream to become the first undefeated NCAA men’s basketball team since the 1975-1976 Indiana Hoosiers is drawing closer and closer to reality. The Wildcats are sharpening their claws at the perfect time, too, after trashing 5 seed West Virginia, 78-39, in their Sweet 16 encounter. Do the math on that final score and you’ll realize that Kentucky literally doubled-up on the outmatched Mountaineers, booking it place in the Elite Eight where it now meets 3 seed Notre Dame in the regional championships.
It’s still a little too early to crown Kentucky as the champion, but every time they play, they’ve certainly made me look foolish for not hopping on that bandwagon yet. Even being -13 favorites against West Virginia, the Wildcats just dominated the game from the get-go, racing to a 44-18 first half lead on the back of a dominant defense and a composed three-guard attack led by the Harrison twins and Trey Lyles. Kentucky even pulled off this spanking despite poor performances from their star-studded front line. If that isn’t a sign that beating Kentucky means more than just shutting down Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns, then I fear for the rest of the teams that the Wildcats will face moving forward.
In the other Sweet 16 games, 3 seed Notre Dame continued its basketball resurgence by disposing 7 seed Wichita State, 81-70, despite the Shockers closing as -2 favorites. It’s another example of a high seed not getting the proper respect they deserve. The game was actually tight early in the second half, but Fighting Irish coach Mike Brey made the necessary adjustments – that or he simply talked to his kids – because Notre Dame took over from there, finishing off the usually stingy Shockers with 48 second-half points on the back of 75% shooting from the field.
Meanwhile, 1 seed Wisconsin made good on its status by taking out 4 seed North Carolina with yet another comeback win to secure a date with 2 seed Arizona in the Elite Eight. Like its past games in the tourney, the Badger found themselves needing to mount a comeback to advance and once again, Wisconsin stormed back, pushing ahead of a North Carolina team that looked as if it simply ran out of gas in the end. It got a little hairy at the end, too, as Wisconsin somehow managed to cover the -6 spread on free throws, robbing Tar Heel fans and bettors a chance for the double-victory.