Kentucky advances to the sweet sixteen and avenges last year's tournament loss with a 71-63 victory over West Virginia. The Mountaineers led by eight at the half before Kentucky clamped down defensively late enabling the Wildcats to outscore West Virginia by 16 points in the second half.
Kentucky guard Brandon Knight had an outstanding game for the Wildcats with 30 points and four assists. The freshman point guard is following in the long line of successful players to play the position under coach John Calipari. Josh Harrelson scored 15 points while Terrence Jones logged a double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Joe Mazzulla led the way for West Virginia with 20 points while Darryl Bryant added 15.
The story of this game was how much better defensively the Wildcats were in the second half. Kentucky was down eight points at halftime despite shooting 56% from the field. The Wildcats came out and set the tone early holding the Mountaineers to just 22 second half points and 41% shooting for the game.
The Wildcats become the first team this season to advance to the sweet sixteen. They will play the winner of today's game between Ohio State and George Mason.