NCAA Tournament 2015: Thursday's Sweet 16 Scores, Updated Bracket and Schedule

After a brief four-day break for fans to collect themselves, as well as avoid having college athletes exhaust themselves more than they already are in the NCAA tournament, March Madness has returned with the first round of Sweet 16 games. 

Even though only four games are on the schedule, it's an eclectic slate where it's reasonable to think the lower-seeded teams could come out on top.

As good as the entire Sweet 16 looks, there's little doubt that Thursday's opening salvo has more star power with arguably the nation's top three teams—Kentucky, Wisconsin, Arizona—in action. That doesn't even include North Carolina trying to upset the Badgers or the showdown between Notre Dame and Wichita State. 

In the spirit of keeping all the results and stories straight, here's a look at the final scores and a look ahead at the schedule.

Matchup	Final/Start Time (ET)
No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 7 Wichita State	Notre Dame, 81-70
No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 4 North Carolina	Wisconsin, 79-72
No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 5 West Virginia	Kentucky, 78-39
No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 6 Xavier	Arizona, 68-60

No. 3 Notre Dame def. No. 7 Wichita State, 81-70

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By finally playing up to its full potential in an 81-70 victory, Notre Dame ended any hopes Wichita State had of getting a rematch with Kentucky.

The Fighting Irish had struggled against Northeastern and Butler, which led to concerns about their long-term prognosis in this tournament with a good Wichita State team on the horizon. They washed those worries away thanks to a brilliant second half in which they scored 48 points. 

One interesting part of this win for Notre Dame is it happened with a so-so effort from Jerian Grant. The star guard finished with nine points, though he did have 11 assists to balance things out. His lack of scoring wasn't an issue thanks to another stellar effort by Pat Connaughton. 

The senior star had his way with the Shockers defense, going 7-of-12 for 16 points and earning praise from Yahoo Sports Radio's' Jason McIntyre:

This was a balanced offensive barrage for Mike Brey's team, with four starters finishing with more than 10 points and shooting 55.6 percent from the floor. Zach Auguste also got a chance to shine by going a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor with 15 points, while Demetrius Jackson led the team with 20 points. 

Brey has often come under fire for tournament failings; however, Mike Monaco of Watch Notre Dame noted the Notre Dame head coach seemed to push the right buttons when it seemed his team was going to fall apart:

Brey has Notre Dame in the Elite Eight for the first time since he took over in 2000. The next step will be the biggest with either West Virginia or Kentucky looming. He talked about how this team has helped him become a better coach, as well as providing a necessary release for him after his mother passed away last week before the game against Butler, according to Will Graves of The Associated Press (h/t The Denver Post).

"I think coaches are the greatest compartmentalizers in the history of the world and have to be to survive this thing," Brey said. "There is such a good vibe and positive energy coming off this team; it's really good for me to be around it this week and get back and be busy and teach."

As for Wichita State, even though the ending is disappointing, this team continues to prove it's one of the best in the country. The Shockers were always fighting an uphill battle in this particular region and without any significant size to defend longer teams like Notre Dame. 

When you're an undersized team, being able to shoot from beyond the arc is essential. Wichita State struggled in that area with three three-point field goals made on 18 attempts. Darius Carter and Fred VanVleet were fine, combining for 47 points on 18-of-35 shooting, but the other three starters had 15 total points.

Ron Baker had a fascinating performance, as ESPN Stats & Info noted the star junior was shining in the first 12 minutes: 

Guess what Baker finished the game with? Nine points and six rebounds. The Shockers' leading scorer in the regular season didn't score a point in the final 28 minutes. Give Notre Dame credit for locking him down. 

The key story for Wichita State with its season over will be the fate of head coach Gregg Marshall, who will reportedly be a top target for Alabama's head coaching vacancy, according to Gary Parrish of CBS Sports. 

There will be plenty of time for Marshall to figure out his future. For now, he can take pride in another strong tournament run, even though it ended before anyone wanted it to. 

Notre Dame now has the luxury of sitting back to watch what Kentucky and West Virginia do to each other in preparation for its next game on Saturday. 

No. 1 Wisconsin defeats No. 4 North Carolina, 79-72

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

The No. 1-seeded Wisconsin Badgers got all they could handle from the North Carolina Tar Heels before pulling away late and advancing to the Elite Eight off the back of a 79-72 victory Thursday.

North Carolina led for much of the game. The Heels took a 33-31 edge into the locker room at halftime and enjoyed a small buffer to start the second half. They were up by as many as seven points, 53-46, until a three-pointer by Bronson Koenig with 10:29 left set Wisconsin's comeback in motion.

The Badgers took a 61-60 lead with six minutes to go after a layup by Zak Showalter. They never trailed for the rest of the game.

Marcus Paige made it interesting with a three to get UNC to within a point, 71-70, in the final minute.

However, the Tar Heels couldn't string enough defensive possessions together to get back on top. It was a problem Paige highlighted after the game, per Inside Carolina:

Wisconsin made its last eight free throws to seal the win.

The Badgers largely have Sam Dekker to thank for advancing. The junior forward finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds. With those numbers, Dekker joins rather impressive company, per ESPN Stats & Info:

As ESPN's Jeff Goodman noted, Dekker's performance was all the more important since Frank Kaminsky was a bit off his game:

Kaminsky scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds, which aren't terrible by themselves, but it was clear the Big Ten Player of the Year wasn't impacting the game as he usually does.

Instead, Dekker stepped up and served as the catalyst of the Wisconsin offense:

Given the close nature of the game, many will likely argue that this was a less-than-stellar showing from the Badgers. CBS Sports' Sam Vecenie highlighted that in fact their offense was about as efficient as you could expect:

"

Wisconsin dropped a 131.7 offensive rating, and it felt like they struggled for 3/4s of the game. Crazy.

— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) March 27, 2015"

Wisconsin will get either Arizona or Xavier in the Elite Eight.

Thursday's game illustrated just how good the Badgers are at winning ugly. Their style doesn't always produce the most aesthetically pleasing results, but they wear teams down as the second half goes on.

No. 1 Kentucky defeats No. 5 West Virginia, 78-39

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The top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats didn't just beat the West Virginia Mountaineers Thursday; they set the state of WVU basketball back a decade, beating Bob Huggins' team by 39 points, the same amount West Virginia scored for the entire game.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, it's the first time in Sweet 16 history that a team doubled up the opposition. ESPN Stats & Info posted the Mountaineers' shot chart, and it has a tad more red X's than it does yellow O's:

Throughout the year, many have wondered—quite foolishly—whether the Wildcats could compete with the NBA's worst team. During Thursday's game, ESPN's SportsNation—tongue-in-cheek—asked whether Kentucky could beat the most successful regular-season team in NBA history:

Five different players scored in double figures for Kentucky, and nine different players logged at least a minute of game action.

Trey Lyles led the way with 14 points, while Aaron and Andrew Harrison combined to get 25. Somewhat unbelievably, the Wildcats won by 39 points despite Karl-Anthony Towns—a potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft—only scoring one point.

Kentucky excelled on the defensive end, holding West Virginia to 24.1-percent shooting from the field. The Mountaineers made just 2 of their 15 three-point attempts.

At this point, it's hard seeing how anybody could beat the Wildcats. They're so balanced and boast so much depth that playing the perfect game still wouldn't be enough to fell the SEC champions. You have to play the perfect game and simultaneously hope Kentucky shoots itself in the foot enough that you actually have a chance.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish might be able to hand UK its first loss, but the odds aren't looking good.

No. 2 Arizona defeats No. 6 Xavier, 68-60

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The Arizona Wildcats weren't great Thursday, but they were good enough to beat the Xavier Musketeers, digging down deep and pulling out a 68-60 victory.

The win was a bit bittersweet for Wildcats head coach Sean Miller, who coached at Xavier before he headed to Tucson. He tried to put all of his emotions into one tweet:

"

It's with great pride that I congratulate Xavier on a great season. I'm so proud to say that I coached there for 8 years. Tonight was hard.

— Sean Miller (@UACoachMiller) March 27, 2015"

Arizona had trouble all night dealing with Xavier's 1-3-1 zone. As a team, it shot 40.7 percent from the field and 31.8 percent from long range. Sporting News' Michael DeCourcy praised Musketeers head coach Chris Mack for unleashing the defensive strategy:

What really saved the Wildcats late was their foul shooting. They nailed their final dozen free throws, making up for the struggles of T.J. McConnell, Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. The trio combined to shoot 11-of-28 from the field.

McConnell still performed well despite his somewhat poor shooting. He finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Of course, with Xavier eliminated, college basketball fans have seen the last of Matt Stainbrook. The Musketeers big man went for 17 points and 10 rebounds in his NCAA swan song. Nobody will soon forget seeing Stainbrook work inside:

Arizona will get Wisconsin in a rematch of last year's Elite Eight matchup. The Badgers escaped by a point in overtime, and on paper, this year's clash should be just as good. ESPN's Jeff Borzello tweeted that he'd been looking forward to their possible meeting ever since the tournament draw was made:

Considering Wisconsin didn't exactly win in the most convincing fashion, both should be in line for a bounce-back performance in two days' time.