Reniya Kelly grew up in Hoover, Alabama, and led her high school team to three state titles at Legacy Arena in Birmingham. That’s where Carolina will face Duke in the Sweet 16.

Quite simply, this is not the year of the Cinderella squad. The silver lining: The second-weekend matchups are loaded.

A season steeped with promise ended in early heartbreak for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who suffered a 71-62 upset loss to TCU on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats shot a blistering 12-of-24 from three-point range in both of those earlier meetings, coming away with a 78-73 win on Jan. 28 and a 75-64 victory on Feb. 11 to hand the Volunteers two of their seven losses.

It’s been three long days, but the men’s NCAA tournament returns Thursday with 16 teams just two wins away from the Final Four.

The SportsLine Projection Model has revealed its Kentucky Wildcats vs. Tennessee Volunteers picks for the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Friday

Favorites went undefeated with a perfect 8-0 record in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1985, per Evan Abrams of Action Network. Teams favored by at least seven points in the 2025 tournament are also 26-1 overall, with the only loss being No. 5 Clemson's first-round defeat at the hands of No. 12 McNeese State.

Since N.C. State and LSU met in the Bahamas in November, the Wolfpack and Tigers have combined to win 44 of 52 games and have evolved considerably.