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Bonzie Colson #35 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates after defeating the Wichita State Shockers during the Midwest Regional semifinal of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena on March 26, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio.Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Notre Dame's march through March is picking up speed.

Demetrius Jackson scored 20 points and the third-seeded Irish dominated Wichita State 81-70 in the Midwest regional semifinals on Thursday night to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in 36 years.

The Irish (32-5) shot 75 per cent (18 of 24) in the second half, easily pulling away from the seventh-seeded Shockers (30-5) after Wichita State took its first and only lead on a layup by Darius Carter early in the second half. Pat Connaughton added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Notre Dame and Jerian Grant had nine points and 11 assists as the Irish won their eighth straight.

Notre Dame will play either unbeaten Kentucky or West Virginia on Saturday night with a Final Four spot on the line.

Fred VanVleet led Wichita State with 25 points but the Shockers simply couldn't keep up with the sharp-shooting Irish.

The Shockers appeared ready to take control after climbing out of a 13-point deficit to go up 38-37 on Carter's basket with 16:37 to go. Jackson knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Irish back in front and Wichita State — eyeing a rematch with the Wildcats in the regional final after Kentucky ended the Shockers' perfect season last spring — couldn't respond.

Notre Dame didn't give them a chance.

Once Grant decided to become a distributor after missing his all five of his first-half shots, the Irish soared. Notre Dame hit eight straight during a 38-18 surge that left Wichita State reeling pushed the Irish to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1979, when Bill Laimbeer, Orlando Woolridge and Kelly Tripucka fell to Magic Johnson and eventual national champion Michigan State.

Carter had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Shockers but guard Ron Baker had just nine points and went scoreless in the second half. Wichita State said it had the firepower to keep pace with Notre Dame. The Shockers did for 25 minutes, after that the ACC Tournament champions took flight.

The Irish survived two tough opening weekend games, beating Northeastern and Butler by a combined seven points. One of the nation's most efficient offensive teams advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2003 by clamping down at the other end of the court. One key stop late avoided a bracket-busting upset at the hands of the Huskies and an emphatic block by Connaughton just before the buzzer helped Notre Dame fend off the Bulldogs in overtime.

The win over Butler came just hours after coach Mike Brey lost his mother Betty to a heart attack at age 84. He spent Sunday celebrating her remarkable life — she was a member of the 1956 U.S. Olympic swim team — before returning to the cocoon of his resilient team. Notre Dame rebounded from the worst season of Brey's 15 years in South Bend last winter — a messy 15-17 slog — with a sizzling sprint through March that included wins over Duke and North Carolina on its way to an unlikely ACC Tournament triumph down the street from Tobacco Road.

Wichita State had no such worries last weekend. The Shockers raced past Indiana then dominated in-state rival Kansas, a victory more than two decades in the making after the Jayhawks spent years building a nonconference schedule that did not include the blossoming mid-major a couple of hours away.

Baker admitted toppling Kansas was like reaching Cloud Nine but added it doesn't sound so good when Cloud 10 is two steps away.

The Shockers didn't even get halfway there. Notre Dame picked Wichita State apart in the early going. The Irish hit eight of their first 10 shots and led by as many as 13 points before the Shockers settled in behind Carter, Baker and VanVleet, who long ago grew accustomed to performing in the unique crucible the tournament provides.

VanVleet scored Wichita State's final seven points of the first half to pull within 33-30.

TIP-INS:

Wichita State: The Shockers are 4-2 all-time in the Sweet 16. ... The Shockers shot 40 per cent (26 of 65) and made just 3 of 18 3-point attempts. ... Baker went 0 for 5 in the second half.

Notre Dame: Connaughton played in his 138th game for the Irish, a school record. ... Notre Dame made 9 of 19 3-point attempts, with Jackson making 4 of 5.

UP NEXT:

Wichita State: Shockers lose two starters in Carter and Cotton but return Baker, VanVleet and Evan Wessel.

Notre Dame: Irish try to move on to first Final Four since 1978, when they lost to Duke in national title game.

Top-seeded Wisconsin rallies to beat North Carolina to reach final eight

LOS ANGELES — Sam Dekker scored a career-high 23 points, Frank Kaminsky added 19 and top-seeded Wisconsin rallied in the final 10 minutes to hold off North Carolina 79-72 Thursday night and advance to the final eight of the NCAA Tournament.

Zak Showalter came off the bench to score six points in the Badgers' 19-7 comeback run that sent them into the West Regional final Saturday against either No. 2 seed Arizona or sixth-seeded Xavier.

Brice Johnson and Justin Jackson scored 15 points each for the fourth-seeded Tar Heels (26-12), who got within one with 4:21 remaining but couldn't retake the lead they owned for much of the second half.

Marcus Paige hit consecutive 3-pointers that drew Carolina within one with 54 seconds to go, but Wisconsin (34-3) made all eight of its free throws — four by Kaminsky — over the closing seconds.

Paige added 12 points for the Tar Heels.

The teams shot exactly the same — 46 per cent — for the game, but the Badgers improved to 58 per cent in the second half and made 20 of 23 free throws to keep their hopes of a second straight Final Four berth alive.

The Tar Heels were trying to reach a regional final for the first time since back-to-back appearances in 2011 and '12. They appeared to have the game in hand when they were up by seven and Kaminsky went down with his hands covering his eyes.

Turns out "Frank the Tank" was just getting his team revved up.

With Kaminsky on the bench, his right eye reddened after being hit by Isaiah Hicks, the Badgers launched the 19-7 run that put them back in front, 65-60. Kaminsky quickly returned to hit a 3-pointer, and Showalter scored four straight, including a layup off his own steal, putting the red-clad Wisconsin fans in full-throated cheers.

Carolina's Kennedy Meeks returned from a sprained left knee last weekend to bother Kaminsky early before getting in foul trouble.

Trailing by one, the Tar Heels outscored the Badgers 14-6 to take their largest lead, 53-46. Berry and Hicks had four apiece while the Badgers struggled to make a shot.

Kaminsky got hit in the eye by Hicks on his layup that ended Carolina's run. He covered his face, but eventually got up and played the rest of the game with an eye that was open even less than his usual sleepy appearance.

Dekker carried the Badgers offensively with 15 points in the first half, including a layup that just beat the buzzer to pull Wisconsin within 33-31, just the sixth time the Badgers trailed at the break this season. Carolina threw a trio of big bodies on Kaminsky, with Meeks, Jackson and Joel James keeping the lanky 7-footer tied up. He had four points and five rebounds.

Neither team led by more than five points in the first half, when Carolina shot 50 per cent.

Dekker sparked an 8-0 run by twice driving into the heart of Carolina's defence and scoring to give Wisconsin a 25-20 lead. Carolina closed the half by outscoring the Badgers 13-6 and holding them to 1 of 9 field goals down the stretch.

TIP-INS

North Carolina: Alums Rick Fox, Antawn Jamison and Eric Montross chatted at halftime.

Wisconsin: Dekker shot 10 of 15 for a career high in field goals made. ... G Traevon Jackson returned after an 18-game absence due to injury, and scored four points. ... Packers QB Aaron Rodgers was in the house, along with Cal Ripken Jr. and Billy Crystal.

UP NEXT:

North Carolina: Season over.

Wisconsin: Plays either No. 2 seed Arizona or No. 6 seed Xavier on Saturday.

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