( CNN ) Kentucky is so awesome right now you are probably watching the NCAA men 's basketball tournament to see who is going to get second . The undefeated Wildcats were scary good Thursday night in crushing West Virginia . The score was so lopsided the game was over before the first television timeout . While the Wildcats won in a blowout , Notre Dame and Wisconsin also advanced to the Elite Eight with less-than-comfortable wins . The Fighting Irish pulled away from Wichita State while the Badgers shook off pesky North Carolina . During the nightcap a lot of televisions -- outside the commonwealth of Kentucky -- probably changed channels . The good news was Arizona and Xavier played a terrific game in the final contest of the night . Perhaps you should n't provoke the beast that is Kentucky . In the week leading up to the game , West Virginia 's Daxter Miles said , `` I give them them their props . Salute them getting to 36-0 . But tomorrow they 're gon na be 36-1 . '' Mr . Miles missed his guaranteed win by miles . The Wildcats smoked the Mountaineers 78-39 Thursday night in a Midwest Region contest that was never a contest . Kentucky raced to an 18-2 lead -- they should have stopped it then -- and had five players score in double figures on the night . Trey Lyles was the Wildcats ' top scorer with 14 points . West Virginia could n't guard anyone , except maybe the official who went down when he tripped over a Mountaineer waiting at the scoring table . Kentucky 's 37-0 record is the best start in NCAA history , which has Kentucky superfan Ashley Judd super excited . It was n't a pretty game for the Wildcats ' offense , but Arizona scratched its way past Xavier 68-60 in a West Region semifinal . Arizona shot 40 percent , while Xavier was n't much better at 43 percent . The Wildcats tightened their defense toward the end , closing out with a 19-7 run that pushed them to a win and a meeting Saturday with Wisconsin . It 's a rematch of an Elite 8 game last year , which the Badgers won by one point . T.J. McConnell topped all Arizona scorers with 17 points while Matt Stainbrook led Xavier with 17 points . The Irish found the right balance in the second half , putting the Shockers away for a 81-70 victory in the Midwest Region . Notre Dame trailed by 1 with 16:43 left when it went on a spurt that saw six different players score as the lead grew to double digits . Demetrius Jackson , who started the run with back-to-back three-pointers , led the Irish with 20 points . Two-sport star Pat Connaughton had 16 . Steve Vasturia , who one CBS analyst called a baby-faced assassin , chipped in 13 points . Jerian Grant , a national player of the year candidate , had a rough night shooting , so he set up his teammates for buckets instead . He had nine points but 11 assists . Junior Fred VanVleet led the Shockers with 25 points while Darius Carter maneuvered inside for 22 . Wisconsin played cool and shot hot from the free-throw line in holding off North Carolina 79-72 . Sam Decker was trending on Twitter but the Tar Heels were concerned about Sam Dekker ( two Ks , folks ! ) , the Wisconsin forward who was n't having any trouble scoring against the fourth-seeded Tar Heels . Dekker , who was guarded by the Heels ' best defender , J.P. Tokoto , sliced his way for 15 first-half points to keep the Badgers in the game . The junior had a career-high 23 points on the night while Frank Kaminsky , one of the best players in the country , struggled . But the 7-foot tall center hit a big three and big free throws as the minutes wound down . The Badgers were 20 for 23 from the free throw line . Kaminsky hit all eight of his attempts . Folks also got worked up over seeing Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and actress girlfriend Olivia Munn at the game . Seems like TBS cut to a shot of the two at every break in the action . How 'd you like to be the guy next to Rodgers ? He won two U.S. Open golf titles , yet is n't famous enough to get all the way in the celebrity fan shot . It 's OK , Andy North .
Kentucky destroys West Virginia . Notre Dame 's offense gets hot in the week , led by Demetrius Jackson . Wisconsin holds off ACC 's North Carolina with superb free-throw shooting .