CLEVELAND – Supposedly, West Virginia was going to rise up from some Appalachian hell mouth and unleash this full-court press that would leave mighty Kentucky bruised, befuddled and maybe even beaten. Or, that's what a lot of analysts said, or hoped, or wished, or something.

The press. Did you know Bob Huggins is 8-2 against John Calipari? The press. Did we mention the press?

They sounded so convincing that the West Virginia players started to believe them.

"Tomorrow they're going to be 36-1," WVU's Daxter Miles Jr. predicted.

Well, tomorrow came and Kentucky is 37-0. West Virginia is finding a country road to take them home after a 78-39 beatdown, and, really, the Mountaineers did nothing to cause shame. Even poor Daxter, who is guilty of nothing more than believing in himself.

It's just that West Virginia wasn't beating Kentucky Thursday, Friday, tomorrow … maybe ever. If the teams played 10 times, Kentucky would win 14 of them. The Mountaineers were a team that maximized itself to get to the Sweet 16.

"I thought they were the best offensive team in the country," Huggins said of Kentucky before later noting "… that's the best defensive team I think I've ever coached against."

View photos Kentucky left the Mountaineers hanging their heads. (USA Today) More

That pretty much sums it up so far this season.

So with that over, how about ol' Notre Dame, which gets the Wildcats on Saturday in the Midwest Regional final here?

You ready for two days of how the Irish could, possibly, maybe, potentially beat Kentucky?

Apparently it is the job of every pundit out there to invent a scenario in which the Wildcats lose. It might be to convince themselves their job has purpose, because just saying, "Kentucky is better, it's going to win," doesn't feel like the kind of analysis that commands a paycheck.

Or maybe they are just bored, because unless you're a Kentucky fan, the Wildcats are kind of dull – not the way they play (that's actually quite exciting) but the sheer lack of drama involved in this perfect season. There were a couple of overtime games back in January, a close one at LSU in February and that one time when Georgia led for a while and …

And that's about it. Average margin of victory this season: 21.2 points.

Or, maybe – and this is Conspiracy Kentucky Fan's favorite – they all hate the Wildcats. This isn't true, but, look, you need something to get you geared up when your team just crushes everyone so easily. So, let them have it.

So, Notre Dame? Notre Dame can beat Kentucky!

Sure, if they shoot 75 percent or better from the floor for the entire game and Kentucky plays like crap and maybe leaves Trey Lyles and Karl-Anthony Towns back at the hotel.

The theory this time will center on how well the Irish shoot from the outside, and they sure do. In soundly beating Wichita State 81-70, they shot 75 percent in the second half from both the floor and behind the 3-point line.

Do that – or better – and …

Of course, the operative phrase here is against Wichita State, which is a very good team but it sure isn't Kentucky.

"Kentucky is a whole different bag of tricks with their size," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey noted.

The way Kentucky was a whole different bag of tricks for the West Virginia press than Maryland or Buffalo or 19 other teams it beat this season. Kentucky had no problem with the West Virginia press, which, in general, was only unleashed after made baskets – because Kentucky's defense was so good, West Virginia made only 13 baskets.

Story continues