GAME NOTES: The NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 gets underway on Thursday evening at Quicken Loans Arena, as third-seeded Notre Dame and seventh-seeded Wichita State play for the right to move into the Midwest Regional final this weekend.

The winner of this game will take on either top-seeded Kentucky or fifth- seeded West Virginia in the Elite Eight.

Mike Brey's Irish have gutted out a pair of victories to reach the Sweet 16, outlasting both Northeastern (69-65) and Butler (67-64 OT) to advance. With the wins, Notre Dame moves to 31-5 on the year and makes its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2003. This marks Notre Dame's 16th appearance in the Sweet 16. The Irish are 5-10 all-time in regional semifinal games.

Gregg Marshall's Shockers lived up to their moniker, with a big upset of in- state rival and second-seed Kansas in the third round (78-65). Wichita State upended Indiana to open its tournament run (81-76) and now sits at 30-4 on the year. The Missouri Valley Conference champs are making their second Sweet 16 appearance in the last three years and sixth overall. WSU is 4-1 in regional semifinal action.

This marks just the third meeting between these two teams. Notre Dame won the first meeting in South Bend in 1990 (88-78), but Wichita State evened things up at home the next season (60-50).

Wichita State shot .490 from the floor and had all five starters finish in double figures, as the Shockers distanced themselves from the Jayhawks in the second half, en route to the 13-point win. After taking a three-point lead into the break (29-26), WSU shot a scorching .593 from the floor over the final 20 minutes of action to earn the win. Tekele Cotton led the way with a season-high 19 points for Wichita State. Fred VanVleet had a big game as well, netting 17 points, along with six rebounds, six assists and four steals. Ron Baker and Evan Wessel added 12 points apiece, while Darius Carter checked in with 10.

The Shockers' offensive eruption was a bit out of the ordinary. The team is averaging 70.3 ppg this season on .446 shooting. It has been Wichita's defensive effort that has been much more consistent. Foes are netting just 56.7 ppg this year and being held under 40-percent shooting (.397). The Shockers also enjoy a substantial +3.9 turnover margin. Baker is the top scoring threat on the roster at 14.9 ppg. The 6-foot-4 junior is shooting .384 from behind the arc and has amassed a team-high 78 3-pointers to date. VanVleet is the team catalyst, as a scoring threat (13.2 ppg), distributor (5.3 apg) and defender (team-high 64 steals). Carter (11.1 ppg) rounds out the double-digit threats on the roster, although Cotton (9.9 ppg) is on the cusp.

Wichita State will need to remain diligent on the defensive end, because Notre Dame can run teams out of the building when it is clicking on all cylinders. Despite the subdued numbers in tournament play thus far, the Irish are still averaging a robust 78.2 ppg, while ranking among the nation's best in field- goal percentage (.509). It all starts with All-American Jerian Grant, who runs the show for Notre Dame. The 6-5 senior has the ability to fill up the basket (16.8 ppg), while also doing damage as one of the nation's premier facilitators (6.6 apg). Three other players are averaging over 12 points per game to provide plenty of depth. Zach Auguste is second in the scoring column at 12.6 ppg, followed closely by Pat Connaughton (12.5 ppg) and Demetrius Jackson (12.4 ppg).

The Irish earned their first overtime win in an NCAA Tournament game this past weekend against Butler and are now 1-3 in such games all-time. The game was played with heavy hearts for Notre Dame, as coach Brey's mother passed away just hours before the Irish took the court in Pittsburgh. Notre Dame shot just .431 from the floor overall, but did enough in the extra session to advance. Steve Vasturia came up huge, posting a team-high 20 points in the win. Grant added 16 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Jackson chipped in with 13 points. Auguste netted seven points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Connaughton finished with seven points, nine boards and five blocked shots.

The Shockers have reached the 30-win mark in three straight seasons, a testament to the kind of program Marshall has built. Notre Dame is a lethal offensive squad, but hasn't really shown it in this event yet. If the Irish don't get going at that end of the floor, Wichita State's run is likely to continue.