Kentucky vs. Notre Dame: How they match up in Midwest Regional final

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

WHAT: NCAA Midwest Regional final, Saturday (5:45 p.m.)

WHERE: Cleveland. TV: TBS

UPDATE: Both teams reach the regional finals coming off, perhaps, their finest games of the season. Kentucky continued its march toward perfection by dismantling West Virginia by 39 points Thursday in the regional semifinal. The Wildcats held the Mountaineers to 18 first-half points, the 17th time this year Kentucky has held an opponent under 20. How do you defeat Kentucky? “They’re going to have to have a bad day,” West Virginia Coach Bob Huggins said.

Notre Dame shot 75% from the field in the second half to pull away for an 11-point win over Wichita State. Saturday’s matchup is a classic confrontation of Notre Dame’s high-scoring offense against a Kentucky team that ranks first nationally in field goal percentage defense (34.8%). The question is whether Notre Dame, which shot 55.6% against Wichita, can get the same looks and angles against a significantly taller Kentucky team. One shocking number from Thursday’s game: Kentucky won without getting a field goal from star Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished with one point.

STARTERS

KENTUCKY Ht.; Wt.; PPG; Pos.; NOTRE DAME; Ht.; Wt.; PPG

Aaron Harrison; 6-6, 212, 11.1; G; Jerian Grant; 6-5; 204; 16.6

Andrew Harrison; 6-6, 210; 9.3 G; Demetrius Jackson; 6-1; 198; 12.6

Trey Lyles; 6-10; 235; 8.7 F/G Pat Connaughton; 6-5; 218; 11.4

Karl-Anthony Towns; 6-11; 250; 9.7 F/G Steve Vasturia; 6-5; 211; 9.6

Willie Cauley-Stein; 7-0; 240; 9.2 F Zach Auguste; 6-10; 240; 12.7

RESERVES

KENTUCKY Ht.; Wt.; PPG; Pos.; NOTRE DAME; Ht.; Wt.; PPG

Devin Booker; 6-6; 206; 10.1 G/F Bonzie Colson; 6-5; 226; 5.6

Tyler Ulis; 5-9; 155; 5.7 G/F V.J. Beachem; 6-8; 200; 6.1