Sweet 16 Schedule: Kentucky and Favorites Guaranteed to Cruise into Elite Eight

It is well documented that anything can happen in the NCAA tournament, and while that holds true in the Sweet 16, sometimes talent simply wins out. There is likely to be at least a couple upsets on Thursday and Friday, but some of the matchups are too lopsided in favor of the higher seeds.

While it may seem presumptuous to count out a team before the game even starts, some of the top seeds look to be in cruise control right now and will be tough for any squad to knock off. College basketball fans have seen lesser teams shock favorites many times in the past, but the disparity will be too great in some of these games.

Here are three favorites to march into the Elite Eight with convincing wins in the Sweet 16.

Kentucky Wildcats

The Kentucky Wildcats have lost just two games all season long. One of them was a shocker against Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament final, while the other was a one-point defeat against the Indiana Hoosiers. Kentucky will get a chance to slay one of its demons on Friday as the top-seeded Wildcats will have a rematch against the No. 4 Hoosiers. Indiana played the perfect game when it beat Kentucky 73-72 earlier in the season, and it will have to do so once again in the Big Dance.

While the Wildcats are one of the most athletic and up-tempo teams in the nation, the Hoosiers like to run the floor as well. Indiana was able to hang with Kentucky in the previous meeting, but there is reason to believe things could be different this time. Anthony Davis and Terrence Jones were held to a combined 10 points in the first matchup, and Indiana still needed a three from Christian Watford at the buzzer to win. The Wildcats' bigs won't be shut down this time, and it will result in a Kentucky win.

North Carolina Tar Heels

With point guard Kendall Marshall quite likely to miss the Sweet 16 with a wrist fracture and forward John Henson dealing with a wrist ailment of his own, it's fair to say that the North Carolina Tar Heels are facing some adversity.

If Marshall is unable to go as expected, head coach Roy Williams will need to adjust his offense. With all of that said, though, UNC has lucked out by drawing 13th-seeded Ohio in the Sweet 16 and will ultimately prove to be too talented for the Cinderella Bobcats.

Even without Marshall, the Tar Heels will have future NBA players like Henson, Tyler Zeller and Harrison Barnes on the floor at all times. Ohio has played great team basketball in knocking off Michigan and South Florida, but the run has to come to an end sometime. As long as North Carolina doesn't let point guard D.J. Cooper light it up from long range, the Bobcats don't have the horses to run with them. I fully expect UNC to blow Ohio out of the building.

Ohio State Buckeyes

The No. 2 seed Ohio State Buckeyes will take on the No. 6 seed Cincinnati Bearcats in an unexpected battle of Ohio for a chance to qualify for the Elite Eight on Thursday. The Buckeyes won a hard-fought affair against Gonzaga to reach the Sweet 16, while the Bearcats surprisingly upended Florida State. The Buckeyes may not technically be a No. 1 seed, but they were near the top of the rankings all season long and have the makings of a Final Four team.

With Jared Sullinger, Deshaun Thomas and William Buford, Ohio State has three legitimate, top-scoring options that Cincinnati will have to hold in check. With so much firepower, it's very difficult to see the Buckeyes losing this game. The Bearcats' only hope is to muck things up and turn it into a typical Big East game, but Ohio State has too much skill to fall into that trap.

TV Schedule

No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 1 Syracuse - Thursday, March 22 at 7:15 p.m. ET (CBS)

No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 1 Michigan State - Thursday, March 22 at 7:47 p.m. ET (TBS)

No. 6 Cincinnati vs. No. 2 Ohio State - Thursday, March 22 at 9:45 p.m. ET (CBS)

No. 7 Florida vs. No. 3 Marquette - Thursday, March 22 at 10:17 p.m. ET (TBS)

No. 10 Xavier vs. No. 3 Baylor - Friday, March 23 at 7:15 p.m. ET (CBS)

No. 13 Ohio vs. No. 1 North Carolina - Friday, March 23 at 7:47 p.m. ET (TBS)

No. 4 Indiana vs. No. 1 Kentucky - Friday, March 23 at 9:45 p.m. ET (CBS)

No. 11 NC State vs. No. 2 Kansas - Friday, March 23 at 10:17 p.m. ET (TBS)