Five teams from Kentucky played during the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, but only one remains as we gear up for the Sweet 16.
Third-seeded Kentucky basketball, the last remaining team from the commonwealth, is scheduled to play second-seeded Tennessee in the Sweet 16 at 7:39 p.m. ET Friday in Indianapolis.
Here are some of the best storylines about coaches and players at other universities with ties to the commonwealth heading into the regional semifinals.
Arkansas men stacked with former Wildcats
John Calipari has led 10th-seeded Arkansas to two surprising victories in the NCAA Tournament. During the regular season, the Razorbacks finished ninth in the SEC, going 22-13 overall and 8-10 in conference play.
The Hogs defeated seventh-seeded Kansas 79-72 in the first round, when Calipari broke a tie with Bill Self for most tournament wins (59) among active coaches.
In the second round, Arkansas capitalized off a horrible shooting game by second-seeded St. John's, which shot 28% from the field, to win 75-66 and eliminate coach Rick Pitino's squad. Karter Knox led the Razorbacks with 15 points, including nine free throws.
Former Wildcats Adou Thiero, D.J. Wagner and Zvonimir Ivišić, who followed Calipari to Fayetteville, Arkansas, also contributed.
Calipari also brought four former Kentucky assistants with him: Chin Coleman, Bruiser Flint, Chuck Martin and Kenny Payne.
Next game: Arkansas is scheduled to play third-seeded Texas Tech at 10:09 p.m. ET Thursday in San Francisco.
Former Louisville assistant leads Maryland to Sweet 16
Ex-Louisville assistant Kevin Willard has led fourth-seeded Maryland to the Sweet 16 for the 15th time in program history. Willard, the Terps' head coach, is in his third season and making his second NCAA Tournament run with Maryland (27-8).
Willard spent six seasons with the Cards on Pitino's staff from 2001 to 2007. His father, Ralph, was the head coach at Western Kentucky from 1990-94 and worked on Pitino's staff at multiple stops, including the New York Knicks (1987-89), Kentucky (1989-90) and Louisville (2009-10).
After he left Louisville, Kevin Willard coached at Iona for three years and at Seton Hall for 12 years.
Maryland's second-round game received a lot of coverage after freshman Derik Queen made the game-winner at the buzzer to beat 12th-seeded Colorado State, 72-71.
Next game: Fourth-seeded Maryland is scheduled to play top-seeded Florida at 7:39 p.m. ET Thursday in San Francisco.
Longtime Kentucky coach now with Duke
Oldham County native Kyra Elzy guided Kentucky for four seasons as head coach before being fired at the end of the 2023-2024 season.
Elzy went 61-60 as the Cats' head coach. Her tenure started strong, and she led the Wildcats to their first SEC Tournament championship game since 1982 and became the first coach in program history to lead the team to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in their first two seasons. In her last two seasons, she won 24 games total.
She was a Wildcats assistant from 2008-12 and 2016-20.
Elzy now is on Kara Lawson's staff at Duke. The Blue Devils (28-7) have won eight consecutive games, including the ACC Tournament title.
Next game: The second-seeded Blue Devils will play third-seeded North Carolina at 2:30 p.m. ET Friday in Birmingham, Alabama.
2025 March Madness schedule
- Sweet 16: Thursday, March 27 to Friday, March 28
- Elite Eight: Saturday, March 29 to Sunday, March 30
- Final Four: Saturday, April 5, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas
- NCAA championship game: Monday, April 7, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas
2025 Women's March Madness schedule
- Sweet 16: Friday, March 28 to Saturday, March 29
- Elite Eight: Sunday, March 30 to Monday, March 31
- Final Four: Friday, April 4, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida
- NCAA championship game: Sunday, April 6 at 3 p.m. at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida
Reach sports reporter Prince James Story at pstory@gannett.com and follow him on X at @PrinceJStory.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: March Madness: Players, coaches with ties to commonwealth in Sweet 16
