Upstarts Kentucky, Stanford advance to Sweet 16

After knocking off Kansas State and then ending Wichita State’s pursuit of perfection, the eighth-seeded Wildcats are marching on in the NCAA tournament. They’ll play No. 4 seed Louisville, their bitter rival, on Friday in the Midwest Regional semifinals in Indianapolis. “I told them after the game, ‘I’ve been hard on you, like I’ve been on every team,’” Calipari said after a thrilling 78-76 win over the top-seeded Shockers on Sunday, a game that wasn’t over until Wichita State guard Fred VanVleet missed a 3-pointer at the final buzzer. “It’s just been a long process with these guys,” Calipari said, “but at the end of the day, they’re understanding what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable.” Also advancing to the Sweet 16 out of St. Louis was No. 10 seed Stanford, which held on through a tense final few seconds to beat second-seeded Kansas 60-57 on a rough day for fans from the Sunflower State. The Cardinal will play No. 10 seed Dayton on Thursday in the South Regional semifinals in Memphis, Tenn.