Elite 8 2015: Updated Bracket and Predictions for Saturday's Games

Kentucky stands three victories away from a perfect season after an absolutely dominating performance against West Virginia on Thursday. The Wildcats head into the Elite Eight as the clear favorite to cut down the nets in Indianapolis.

They will face off against Notre Dame in the nightcap of Saturday's action. In the first game, the top two seeds in the West Region, Wisconsin and Arizona, will face off to earn a likely meeting with Kentucky in the Final Four next weekend.

That is, of course, if the Fighting Irish don't pull off a shocker. So let's check out all of the important details for the first day of Elite Eight play along with an updated look at the tournament bracket. It's followed by predictions for the games.

Saturday's Elite Eight Schedule

Time (ET)	Team	Team	TV
6:09 p.m.	No. 1 Wisconsin	No. 2 Arizona	TBS
8:49 p.m.	No. 1 Kentucky	No. 3 Notre Dame	TBS

2015 NCAA Tournament Bracket

Game Predictions

West: No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 2 Arizona

Hopefully, this year's tournament clash between these two teams lives up to the standard set in the same round last March. Wisconsin scored a one-point overtime victory in one of the hardest-fought contests in the entire event.

On paper, this should be another close battle. Perhaps the most impressive thing about this year's Badgers is how they manage to rise to the occasion in key moments. They haven't always been dominant, but they find ways to win.

Since a road loss to Rutgers on Jan. 11, they have gone 19-1. Seven of those wins have come by 10 points or less, and two came in overtime. Raphielle Johnson of College Basketball Talk passed along comments from head coach Bo Ryan about that resolve.

"We know how fickle the game can be. These guys have been through a lot," Ryan said. "They've seen the good runs. They've seen the bad runs. But this group never gets discouraged to the point where they get down on themselves or their teammates, and that's what's fun.

"And I've had a lot of teams like that. It's not like we haven't coached those kind of guys. But this group right here handles adversity as well as any team I've ever coached."

Having a go-to scorer like Frank Kaminsky obviously helps in those situations. The question, however, is whether that toughness under pressure will be enough against Arizona.

The Wildcats are one of the most well-rounded teams in the nation. Probably second to only Kentucky in their ability to play terrific defense and turn it into offense.

Interestingly, they also suffered a loss to an unranked team (Oregon State) on Jan. 11, just like Wisconsin. They also bounced back strong, going 20-1 since that point. So there's a certain symmetry of the seasons heading into this game.

Seth Davis of CBS Sports likes Arizona's chances:

The Wildcats have six different players averaging at least nine points per game. That type of scoring depth could prove difficult to stop for a Badgers defense that hasn't always played at a high level. The slow pace of play has simply masked some of those issues.

Expect Arizona to push the tempo as much as it can and earn a narrow victory.

Prediction: Arizona by 3

Midwest: No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 3 Notre Dame

Although Kentucky was widely expected to advance past West Virginia, the manner in which it did was nothing short of astounding. The score was 18-2 less than eight minutes into the game, and the Wildcats never looked back.

They rendered the Mountaineers' press, which is far more effective than it appeared Thursday, virtually useless. Afterward, Tim Warsinskey of The Plain Dealer provided John Calipari's remarks about how locked in his team seemed.

"I was really pleased with the energy of our team," Calipari said. "I was pleased with how zoned in they were, with how we were going to attack the press, how we were going to finish and we were going to just, hey, if we could score a hundred, score a hundred, just play."

Karl-Anthony Towns is one of the most talented NBA prospects in the country. He had four fouls and one point in 13 minutes against West Virginia. The team still doubled up a solid opponent. That's a strong statement with three games to go.

Now, if Kentucky and Notre Dame played 100 times, the Wildcats would win a vast majority of those meetings. They are a better overall team.

The Irish have a better chance than most in a one-game scenario, though. That's because they are a strong offensive squad. It's a situation where if they can find a rhythm from the field and the Wildcats go cold, the stars may align perfectly.

David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune expressed a similar sentiment:

Every Notre Dame contributor must be at his best to give the team a chance. It starts with Jerian Grant, but it's going to take more than one or two strong performances to pull the upset. The Irish must play their best game of the season and then some.

While it's a long shot, especially after what Kentucky just did to West Virginia, the Wildcats certainly can't afford to look past the Irish. That said, they have been too good to pick against them at this stage.

Prediction: Kentucky by 12