Kentucky vs. West Virginia: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2015

West Virginia poked the bear. It's never a good idea to poke the bear.

A dominant Kentucky squad ran the Mountaineers out of the gym in their Sweet 16 matchup Thursday night, winning to the tune of 78-39. In reality, the game was over within the first few minutes, as the Wildcats flexed their undefeated muscles in head-turning fashion.

The first 20 minutes in particular sent a resounding message to the rest of the field: The Wildcats are here to win a national championship.

After the game, West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins didn't mince words when discussing the Wildcats.

"That’s the best defensive team I think I’ve ever coached against," Huggins told reporters, via Bill West of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "Nobody's going to beat them when they make shots like that."

Five different Kentucky players finished in double figures, with freshman forward Trey Lyles leading the way with 14 points. The Wildcats defense was the real story, though, as West Virginia shot an abysmal 24.1 percent from the field and turned the ball over 13 times.

ESPN Stats & Info highlighted just how ridiculous the final score truly was, given the stage:

A potential national championship is motivation enough, but Kentucky looked extra eager to obliterate West Virginia, likely because of this quote from Mountaineers guard Daxter Miles Jr., via ESPN College Basketball:

Miles finished with zero points, missing all three of his shots from the field and both of his free-throw attempts.

While a motivated Kentucky team is terrifying for any opponent, West Virginia couldn't catch a break early, as Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal and Anthony Lima of 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland both noted:

"

West Virginia G Daxter Miles had strong words to say about tomorrow's matchup vs. Kentucky. pic.twitter.com/JpVvl7SRqb

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) March 25, 2015"

That exacerbated what was already a problem, as Lost Lettermen pointed out:

The Wildcats turned that early foul trouble into a ridiculous 44-18 lead by halftime. For all of the talk about West Virginia's press causing problems for the undefeated Wildcats, ESPN's Jay Bilas described what was the ultimate issue for the Mountaineers:

Both teams looked a bit more sluggish out of the locker room, which was really no surprise given the score. 

However, Karl-Anthony Towns picked up his third foul right away, which led to this rather incredible update from Tucker:

The otherwise comfortable Wildcats fans received a temporary scare, as Aaron Harrison was rushed off the floor and into the tunnel with what looked like a dislocated finger. Michael DeCourcy of Sporting News provided some relieving news for Kentucky, though:

Perhaps in response to Miles' pregame comments, Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis Star pointed out that the Wildcats were not letting up despite the massive lead:

Doug Farrar of Sports Illustrated attempted to unearth a silver lining for West Virginia:

Kentucky stretched its lead to 54-19 with less than 12 minutes remaining, putting to rest any concerns about a second-half slump. CBS Sports CBB put that lead into even greater perspective:

Given that the game was so out of hand for so long, CBS Sports' Tom Fornelli began throwing out some interesting speculation. After all, it's not as though West Virginia was on the verge of a thrilling comeback:

An exciting moment with about six minutes remaining emphasized just how much of a mismatch this game was, as Tucker noted:

"

If Kentucky’s bench was a separate team, what seed would it be in this tournament?

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) March 27, 2015"

With Kentucky up, 74-36, at the under-four-minute timeout, Tim May of The Columbus Dispatch provided the Mountaineers with an end goal:

Stunningly, West Virginia met May's challenge by the skin of its teeth and scored 39 points, which is what the final deficit wound up being.

Best of luck to the rest of the field.

What's Next?

Next up for Kentucky is an Elite Eight showdown with Notre Dame for the right to play in the Final Four.

It would be easy to laugh at the notion of anyone beating the Wildcats given the way they came out of the gate Thursday, but Notre Dame has been playing electrifying offense in this tournament, as David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune pointed out:

David Richard/Associated Press

Considering the way West Virginia talked smack before its Sweet 16 game against Kentucky—and how resoundingly the Wildcats responded—Jeff Svoboda of Buckeye Sports Bulletin offered a tip for the Fighting Irish:

Ultimately, something will have to give between Notre Dame's offense and Kentucky's stifling defense. For now, though, the Wildcats will get to enjoy their thorough dismantling of the Mountaineers.

Thirty-seven down and three to go.