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It’s pretty difficult to play better than Kentucky did Saturday night in dispatching UCLA in the Sweet 16. The Wildcats were magnificent on both ends and are heading to the Elite Eight. 

They’ll be joined by South Carolina and Florida, giving the SEC a 3-0 sweep on a night that was pretty big for a conference that so many doubted through the season. The SEC didn’t stand eye-to-eye with the ACC or Big 12 according to the metrics, but here it with a trio of teams in the final eight while those leagues just have one team left in the tournament. 

South Carolina absolutely handled Baylor, running away with the game and pushing Frank Martin’s program into new territory. The Gamecocks were the story of the night until De’Aaron Fox was, and Fox was until Wisconsin was, and then Wisconsin was until Chris Chiozza buried one of the most memorable shots in NCAA Tournament history. 

The SEC ruled the night on Friday, while North Carolina handled business against Butler. The win against the Bulldogs extends Roy Williams’ streak of reaching the Elite Eight every time he’s been a No. 1 seed with UNC, and sets up the rematch of the century against Kentucky. 

Grades for all of Friday night’s winners: 

EAST

(4) Florida Gators: B+

84-83 over (8) Wisconsin

One popular theme of this year’s Elite Eight is a team’s ability to overcome adversity. Just like Xavier has adjusted after losing star guard Edmond Sumner the Gators are one win away from the Final Four after losing one of its key players, big man John Egbunu, prior to the NCAA Tournament. 

Mike White describes this team as a group that is good with sharing the responsibility of being the primary offensive option, and it’s shown so far in their tournament performance. Devin Robinson was the star last weekend and KeVaughn Allen exploded for 35 points in a wake-up game for the sophomore scoring threat. 

The Gators are so long, athletic and good on defense, that a little bit of offensive spark can go a long way. It got them to this moment in the Sweet 16, but the next game is on the schedule because of Chris Chiozza’s game-winner. 

(7) South Carolina Gamecocks: A+

70-50 over (3) Baylor

South Carolina’s players aren’t happy to be here, they’re hungry. Sindarious Thornwell was the most important player on the floor all night, finishing with a game-high 24 points but powering the late first half run that gave the Gamecocks the lead for good. Once South Carolina had established a comfortable lead, that defense that Frank Martin was shouting out after the game stepped in and won the game. Baylor was held to just 30.4 percent shooting for the game and, in the biggest surprise of the night, got out-rebounded by the Gamecocks. 

This is a huge moment for South Carolina’s program, and given their current level of play there is no reason to rule them out as a Final Four contender at this point. 

SOUTH

(1) North Carolina Tar Heels: B

92-80 over (4) Butler  

A perfect start created enough of an advantage for North Carolina to advance to the Elite Eight with a win, one where the outcome remained uncertain if only because of Butler’s relentlessness. The Tar Heels made of 10 of their first 11 field goals in the opening 10 minutes to establish an early 16-point lead, and shot 54.4 percent for the game with 22 assists on 31 field goals. Justin Jackson and Joel Berry combined for 50 points, and Luke Maye provided a huge performance off the bench with 16 points and 12 rebounds. 

For North Carolina, this was the perfect win after getting outplayed for long stretches of the game against Arkansas in the Second Round. Butler was able to hang in the game and even cut the lead to 10 in the second half thanks to some missed free throws and a few defensive lapses but ultimately those complaints are nitpicking at a win that should give UNC fans confidence heading into the most anticipated Elite Eight game of the weekend on Sunday. 

(1) (2) Kentucky Wildcats: A

86-75 over (3) UCLA

The theme of the South Region is that the thoroughbreds showed up, giving us Kentucky-UNC II: The Rematch We Deserve. College basketball hasn’t always been at its best in this tournament in terms of gameplay, but it’s hard to argue that we’ve seen a better game since the Wildcats bested North Carolina 103-100 behind Malik Monk’s 47 points? Now the rematch comes on another neutral court but this time with much higher stakes. 

Lonzo Ball, and his father, have been dominating the spotlight in the days and weeks leading into this heavyweight rematch, but De’Aaron Fox was the best player on the court on Friday night. Fox beat UCLA in a lot of ways (39 points, the most ever for a freshman in the NCAA Tournament), but also spent time guarding Ball, who finished with just 10 points and four turnovers. 

“We gave up 97 points, we remember that,” Fox said after the game, a nod to the fact that the game’s defensive effort was a response to the Bruins’ streak-snapping win in Rupp Arena earlier in the season. 

Kentucky blew the game behind a run powered by Fox and Monk, showcasing yet another reason to assume Sunday afternoon’s Elite Eight showdown with UNC (5:05 p.m., CBS) will have a chance to be one of the best college basketball games we’ll see all year.