NCAA tournament Elite 8 preview: Kentucky vs. Notre Dame

No. 1 Kentucky (37-0) vs. No. 3 Notre Dame (32-5)

Time, TV: 8:49 p.m. ET, TBS

Why Kentucky will win: The top-seeded Wildcats are ruthless. They destroyed No. 5 West Virginia 78-39 in the Midwest Region semifinals Thursday. Their 39-point margin of victory was the largest ever in a Sweet 16 game. They are the first team in the history of college men's basketball to go 37-0. Their length and depth — featuring Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles and Karl-Anthony Towns — will be too much for the undersized Fighting Irish to counter.

VIDEO PREVIEW:Kentucky vs. Notre Dame

Why Notre Dame will win: It will take a near perfect game for the Irish to spring the upset. What gives Notre Dame hope is its ability to shoot from the perimeter. In the second half of the 81-70 victory against No. 7 Wichita State in the semis, they scorched the nets at a 75% clip from both the field (18-for-24) and three-point distance (6-for-8). Demetrius Jackson knocked down four threes, Pat Connaughton had two and Steve Vasturia had one. Big man Zach Auguste was also a key with 15 points and six rebounds.

History lesson: Kentucky holds a 42-19 edge all time against Notre Dame and is 2-0 vs. the Fighting Irish in the NCAA tournament. Notre Dame won the last meeting 64-50 on Nov. 29, 2012, in South Bend, Ind.

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