Arizona received everything it expected and probably a little more than it desired from Xavier, but the Wildcats ultimately advanced with a 68-60 victory in a West Regional semifinal. The Wildcats will meet Wisconsin in an Elite Eight game with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
Wisconsin rallied late, and because of it will play for a second straight trip to the Final Four, having eliminated North Carolina 79-72 in a West Regional semifinal of the NCAA Tournament. The Badgers will play Arizona, a 68-60 winner over Xavier.
Point guard T.J. McConnell scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half, sparking second-seeded Arizona to a 68-60 victory over sixth-seeded Xavier in an NCAA West Regional semifinal Thursday night at Staples Center.
Forward Trey Lyles scored 14 points, and the top-seeded Kentucky Wildcats remained undefeated with an overwhelming 78-39 win over fifth-seeded West Virginia in the Midwest Regional semifinals Thursday night.
Sam Dekker posted 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Badgers topped the Tar Heels 79-72 in the West Regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles.
Demetrius Jackson scored 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting as third-seeded Notre Dame used a hot-shooting second half to knock off the seventh-seeded Wichita State 81-70 in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional semifinal in Cleveland.
It’s all about matchups at this point, and Kentucky has the edge mostly because of its size. Willie Cauley-Stein and Dakari Johnson are 7-footers, Karl-Anthony Towns is 6-11 and Trey Lyles is 6-10. Wildcats coach John Calipari, like him or loathe him, has done a great job of putting it all together.
Arizona, in the Sweet 16 for the third straight season, brings a 13-game winning streak into the game. Xavier has won five of its last six games and is in the Sweet 16 for the third time in six seasons under coach Chris Mack.
Kentucky is four wins from a perfect season and is about to take on its toughest defensive test so far against West Virginia. The Mountaineers beat up Maryland in the third round to advance and will put the Wildcats’ depth to the test with their full-court pressure.
Wisconsin is two wins from returning to the Final Four, while North Carolina has reached the Elite Eight six times since 2005.
Notre Dame and Wichita State each won rare matchups against in-state rivals in the round of 32, but Thursday’s stakes are higher. The Fighting Irish defeated Butler in overtime, and the Shockers upset Kansas to reach the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years.
The Review-Journal’s Adam Hill, Kelly Stewart and Matt Youmans compete with handicappers Bruce Marshall and Ken Thomson in a contest covering NCAA Tournament games last week, today and Friday. Each contestant selects a total of 22 games against the spread, sides or totals.
A look at some prop bets for the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 games Thursday and Friday. Lines are from the Westgate Las Vegas sports book.
Matt Stainbrook has one of those stories only March Madness can relay to a nation of college fans, and there is also the part about him being a main reason Xavier has advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time since 2008.
Few remember to take a deep breath and appreciate, which is how we should view the final days of Frank Kaminsky’s college basketball career at Wisconsin. His is the sort of story that makes the NCAA Tournament so special.
