This is your preview and open thread for the first day of the 2015 NCAA’s Elite Eight.

(Photo from Amanda Rykoff @ Flickr)

Region: West
Date: Saturday, March 28th
Time: 5:05 pm
Teams: #1 Wisconsin vs #2 Arizona
Location: Los Angeles, CA
TV/Stream: TBS

Tourney Preview: Arizona had a war for most of the game against Xavier (Big East), but pulled away at the end. They haven’t lost since February 7th, but the question is if the Pac-12 is really that hard of a conference? Zona is a classic team that is complete and disciplined with enough talent to be in the Final Four.

Wisconsin always impresses with their size and strength, and overall toughness when they play. It may not look pretty all the time, but it works. They take care of the ball and put it in the hoop. Which style of basketball is going to prevail, Big Ten or Pac-12? Most would say Wisconsin, because they actually have the best chance of upsetting Kentucky if they ever meet. But, I am going with my gut and picking Arizona to stand firm and beat Wisconsin… Zona just looks so good when they play.

Region: Midwest
Date: Saturday, March 28th
Time: 7:45 pm
Teams: #1 Kentucky vs #3 Notre Dame
Location: Cleveland, OH
TV/Stream: TBS

Tourney Preview: Notre Dame has fought hard to get their wins in the tournament. They have gone through Northeastern, Butler, and Wichita State. All the games have been close, but UND keeps pulling out the wins. Their shooting and field goal percentage is phenomenal, that’s how they have been able to do so well in the regular season and in the tournament.

Kentucky has yet to break a sweat to get their wins in the tournament. Their hardest effort (in the tourney) so far was put forth to get a win by 13 points against Cincinnati. They haven’t lost all season, and nobody expects them to lose to UND. Can UND shoot lights-out and stay in this game with UK? The answer is NO.