Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Arizona Reach Elite Eight In NCAA

Momentum sagging and Wichita State surging, Mike Brey called timeout and offered his Notre Dame players a reminder. There was no screaming. No frantic scribbling of X's and O's. That's not Brey's style. Or his team's.

"I said, 'Fellas, been here before,'" Brey said. "Little did I know it was going to be a lightning strike, a flat-out lightning strike."

One that carried the Irish all the way to the brink of the Final Four. Demetrius Jackson scored 20 points and third-seeded Notre Dame blitzed the Shockers in the second half of a surprisingly easy 81-70 victory Thursday night in the Midwest Region semifinal to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in 36 years. The Irish (32-5) shot 75 percent (18-of-24) over the final 20 minutes, overwhelming the seventh-seeded Shockers (30-5) with a barrage of 3-pointers, expert cuts to the basket and enough fancy passing to fill an AND1 mixtape.

Wisconsin 79, North Carolina 72

Wisconsin looked like a beaten team for much of the game. Frank Kaminsky got off to a slow start, and his team couldn't make a shot in the first half and then fell behind by seven midway through the second.

It looked like a repeat of the Big Ten Conference title game, in which the Badgers were left for road kill against Michigan State before coming back to win in overtime.The top-seeded Badgers again proved their grit, rallying in the final 10 minutes to hold off North Carolina 79-72 on Thursday night and advance to the final eight of the NCAA tournament. Sam Dekker had a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds, Kaminsky added 19, and Nigel Hayes had 12 to send Wisconsin (34-3) into the West Regional final Saturday against No. 2 seed Arizona.

Kentucky 78, West Virginia 39

Like a massive, unstoppable blue wave, Kentucky hit quickly and just kept coming. There was no escape for West Virginia, no place to hide. The Wildcats were as advertised: too big, too strong, too everything. Just too good. Perfect and pulverizing. Trey Lyles scored 14 points, Andrew Harrison added 13 and the unbeaten Wildcats, chasing history and a ninth national title, made their 37th straight win look easy, blowing past the Mountaineers 78-39 on Thursday night in the Midwest Regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament.

"They were what I thought they were," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "That's the best defensive team I think that I've ever coached against. And when they're making shots, there's nobody going to beat them."

The tourney's top seed and an overwhelming favorite to cut down the nets next month in Indianapolis, the Wildcats (37-0) jumped to an 18-2 lead, built it to 26 in the first half and advanced to Saturday's regional final to play third-seeded Notre Dame, an 81-70 winner over Wichita State.Carolina 72

Wisconsin looked like a beaten team for much of the game. Frank Kaminsky got off to a slow start, and his team couldn't make a shot in the first half and then fell behind by seven midway through the second. It looked like a repeat of the Big Ten Conference title game, in which the Badgers were left for road kill against Michigan State before coming back to win in overtime.

The top-seeded Badgers again proved their grit, rallying in the final 10 minutes to hold off North Carolina 79-72 on Thursday night and advance to the final eight of the NCAA tournament. Sam Dekker had a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds, Kaminsky added 19, and Nigel Hayes had 12 to send Wisconsin (34-3) into the West Regional final Saturday against No. 2 seed Arizona.

Arizona 68, Xavier 60

T.J. McConnell shook off his terrible first half and a Xavier defender with equal poise, sliding around a screen and finding an open 3-pointer. The senior's shot split the net in the waning minutes and he put Arizona on its way back to the brink of the Final Four.

McConnell scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half, freshman Stanley Johnson added 12 and second-seeded Arizona made a dominant late rally for a 68-60 victory over sixth-seeded Xavier in the West Regional semifinals on Thursday night.

Friday, March 27 Schedule (All Times Central)

7:15 PM    (11) UCLA vs (2) Gonzaga, 6:15 p.m.

7:37 PM    (8) NC State vs (4) Louisville, 6:37 p.m.

9:45 PM    (5) Utah vs (1) Duke, 8:45 p.m.

(7) Michigan St vs (3) Oklahoma, 9:07 p.m.

Saturday, March 28 Schedule (All Times Central)

(2) Arizona vs (1) Wisconsin, 5:09 p.m.

(3) Notre Dame vs (1) Kentucky, 7:49 p.m.