NCAA Tournament TV schedule 2015: First Final Four berths to be decided Saturday
Kentucky takes on sweet-shooting Notre Dame, and Wisconsin and Arizona meet in a rematch of a classic Elite Eight game.
The first two teams to make the 2015 Final Four will be decided Saturday.
The first team will be either Wisconsin or Arizona. The teams meet in a rematch of the West Regional final of the 2014 NCAA Tournament in the, er, West Regional final of the 2015 NCAA Tournament, a game set to tip at 6:09 p.m. ET.
This time, it's the Badgers, not the Wildcats, who hold the region's No. 1 seed, but both rosters are largely the same as those that produced a classic last March. Arizona lost Nick Johnson, but T.J. McConnell has stepped into his role as the Wildcats' fiery leader, and freshman Stanley Johnson has provided scoring punch for Sean Miller's team, which won the Pac-12 and its tournament. Wisconsin, champion of the Big Ten and its tournament, is still led by Frank Kaminsky, whose 28 points and 11 rebounds lifted the Badgers to the Final Four in a 64-63 overtime win in 2014. Wisconsin still has every player who received minutes in that game, save for Ben Brust.
Arizona and Wisconsin are at No. 2 and No. 3 in Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency-based rankings heading into Saturday’s game. Arizona has a top-10 offense and defense, while Wisconsin is far and away the nation’s most efficient offense but merely quite good on defense.
In the nightcap at 8:49 p.m., Kentucky’s bid to become the first team since UNLV in 1991 to make the Final Four without a loss runs up against white-hot Notre Dame.
SB Nation presents: Kentucky’s ridiculous dominance against West Virginia on Thursday
The Wildcats are the nation’s deepest, tallest and most imposing team, and have the nation’s most efficient defense and the No. 6 offense to show for it. Fresh off a 78-39 annihilation of West Virginia on Thursday night, John Calipari’s team of titans should match up quite well against Notre Dame’s guard-heavy attack.
However, Mike Brey’s shooters have been hot for the entirety of the NCAA Tournament, and sizzled Thursday against Wichita State, scoring 81 points on just 66 possessions. Teams that can shoot might, in theory, be able to stretch Kentucky’s vaunted defense, and Notre Dame would certainly seem more likely to get hot and hand the Wildcats their first loss than any foe Kentucky has faced since its non-conference schedule.
But, well, Kentucky is Kentucky.
Elite 8 TV schedule
West Regional final: No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 2 Arizona
6:09 p.m. ET, TBS (Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Dan Bonner, and Rachel Nichols)
Midwest Regional final: No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 3 Notre Dame
8:49 p.m. ET, TBS (Marv Albert, Len Elmore, Chris Webber, and Lewis Johnson)
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