Kentucky-Wichita State basketball and more March Madness links

Big Blue Links for Sunday:

▪ For this year’s Big Dance, Wichita State wants to go steady with Kentucky, writes Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.

▪ Remember, this is the round where Kentucky took an early exit last year, says my column.

▪ Kentucky should put the rematch aside and focus on itself, says Anthony Crawford of the Kentucky Kernel.

▪ This is not your typical 10-2 matchup, says Metz Camfield of coachcal.com

▪ Kentucky and Wichita State have more than ever at stake, reports Fletcher Page of the Courier-Journal.

▪ Malik Monk is not worried about his errant jump shot, reports Mark Story of the Herald-Leader.

▪ Calipari hopes that Malik Monk is due, writes Alex Forkner of the Cats Pause.

▪ Monk insists he’s not in a funk, says Fletcher Page of the Courier-Journal.

▪ Dominique Hawkins has come out of his shell as a senior, reports Ben Roberts of the Herald-Leader.

▪ Gregg Marshall is downplaying the revenge factor, reports Derek Terry of Cats Illustrated.

▪ Marshall speaks up for the game’s little guy, reports the Wichita Eagle.

▪ Wichita State’s Landry Shamet taking first steps on national stage, reports Paul Sullentrop of the Wichita Eagle.

▪ Wichita State’s success was not built with nationally known recruits, reports Ben Roberts of the Herald-Leader.

▪ NCAA Tournament proves Wichita State has outgrown Missouri Valley Conference, argues Bob Lutz of the Wichita Eagle.

▪ Angry Wichita State is tired of hearing about Kentucky, writes Rick Bozich of WDRB.

▪ The learning curve continues for lackadaiscal Kentucky, writes Tim Sullivan of the Courier-Journal.

▪ Winning is all that matters this time of year, writes Keith Taylor of KyForward.

▪ John Calipari has a favorite player in son Brad, writes Kyle Tucker of SEC Country.

▪ Makayla Epps doesn’t want her career to end, reports Jennifer Smith of the Herald-Leader.

▪ How can Louisville stop Michigan’s threes? asks Eric Crawford of WDRB.

▪ Anime hero inspires Deng Adel’s joyful play, reports Jeff Greer of the Courier-Journal.

▪ John Beilein is not buying Rick Pitino’s hyperbole, writes Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press.

▪ Michigan is not Golden State, but Pitino-Beilein III should be fun nonetheless, writes Pat Forde of Yahoo.

▪ Wisconsin’s rally topples top-seeded Villanova, reports Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

▪ Villanova repeats history, but not the one it wanted, writes Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Enquirer.

▪ Wisconsin plays giant-killer to beat another giant-killer, reports Marc Tracy of the new York Times.

▪ Wisconsin jolts March Madness by knocking out Villanova, reports Ava Wallace of the Washington Post.

▪ Wisconsin’s seniors come up with more March joy, reports Dana O’Neil of espn.com.

▪ Bronson Koenig keyed the Wisconsin upset win, reports Dan Greene of SI.com.

▪ Memo to Villanova, you can’t win them all and don’t play Wisconsin, writes Mark Bradley of the AJC.

▪ You keeping doing you, Wisconsin, says Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News.

▪ Butler is going back to the Sweet 16, reports David Woods of the Indianapolis Star. Nicholasville native Chris Holtmann will be in Memphis.

▪ Florida returns to Sweet 16 with impressive win over Virginia, reports Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun.

▪ Virginia season ends in beat down by Florida, reports David Teel of the Daily Press.

▪ West Virginia tops Notre Dame to reach Sweet 16, reports Erik Brady of USA Today.

▪ Xavier dismantles Leonard Hamilton and Florida State, reports Patrick Brennan of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

▪ Xavier executed the perfect game plan, reports Jeff Borzello of ESPN.

▪ Is this as good as it gets for Florida State basketball, asks Corey Clark of the Tallahassee Democrat.

▪ Purdue recovers to beat Iowa State, reports Nathan Baird of the Journal Courier.

▪ Northwestern almost came all the way back against Gonzaga, reports Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune.

▪ Joel Berry is using cupping therapy, reports Adam Smith of the Burlington Times.

▪ Nate Britt has found peace for himself and his role, reports Andrew Carter of the Charlotte Observer.

▪ Old rivalries resurrected thanks to bracket and costs of a law, writes Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News and Observer.

▪ South Carolina’s pre-tournament rest could help against Duke, says Gene Sapakoff of the Charleston Post and Courier.

▪ UCLA vs. Cincinnati features Caupain vs. Ball says Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

▪ Steve Alford is focused on UCLA not the opening at Indiana, reports Brian Bennett of ESPN.

▪ Alford has become a master of deflection, says Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.

▪ Rhode Island coach to get help from his brother before facing Oregon, reports Joe Davidson of the Sacramento Bee.

▪ Southern Cal is hoping to continue its bracket-busting ways against Baylor, reports Zach Helfand of the Los Angeles Times.

▪ Can Oregon recover after injury to Chris Boucher? asks Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post.

▪ Kansas vs. Michigan State is not about the seeds, writes Blair Kerkhoff of the Kansas City Star.

▪ Kansas has a healthy dose of respect for Michigan State, reports Gary Bedore of the Kansas City Star.

▪ Illinois hires Brad Underwood away from Oklahoma State, reports Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune.

▪ What potential candidates are saying about Indiana opening, from Inside the Hall.

▪ A sleeping giant, will Indiana return to the national stage? asks Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star.

▪ Tom Crean’s coaching family is there to pick him up, writes Mike Rosenberg of SI.com.