NCAA March Madness 2015 Tournament: Sweet 16 Schedule, Brackets, How to Watch Thursday's Matches
The Kentucky Wildcats will resume their quest for the national title and perfect record for the entire season when they collide with the West Virginia Mountaineers in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 on Thursday at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Wildcats, who are tagged favorites heading into March Madness, currently hold a perfect 36-0 record this season. The star-studded Kentucky squad defeated Hampton and Cincinnati in the second and third round of competition, respectively.
While they ran away with easy wins in their first two games in the tournament, Kentucky head coach John Calipari is not expecting the same scenario on Thursday against the Mountaineers.
Calipari, whose team is looking to become the first to win a national title without tasting defeat in a season since 1976, knows it will not be easy on Thursday night as they will be going up against a Mountaineers squad known for their pressure defense.
"They're creating havoc, they're taking you out of your offense, they're creating opportunities for tough shots or turnovers," Calipari said of the Mountaineers via ESPN. "They're playing very physical, they're coming in and letting you know it's going to be body to body."
West Virginia booked a spot in the Sweet 16 with victories against the Buffalo Bulls and the Maryland Terrapins in the second and third round, where they forced 40 turnovers with their vaunted pressure defense.
The winner of the Kentucky-West Virginia match will advance to the Elite Eight and will face either Wichita State Shockers or the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who are also set to collide on Thursday night in Cleveland.
The third-seeded Notre Dame earned a spot in the Sweet 16 with a hard-earned 67-64 win over the Butler Bulldogs in overtime on Saturday. On the other hand, Wichita State shocked second-seeded Kansas Jayhawks, 78-65, in the third-round match on Sunday.
The Notre Dame-Wichita State match is scheduled to start at 7:15 p.m. ET, followed by the Kentucky-West Virginia showdown at 9:45 p.m. ET. Both games will be shown live on CBS.
The North Carolina Tar Heels and top-seeded Wisconsin Badgers will also battle for a spot in the Final Eight, where they will meet the winner of the match between the Xavier Musketeers and Arizona Wildcats.
The North Carolina-Wisconsin match will begin at 7:47 p.m. ET, followed by the Arizona-Xavier game at 10:17 p.m. ET. Both games will be shown live on TBS. All four games on Thursday will also be available through online live stream via NCAA March Madness Live.
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