Kansas State will play Kentucky in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night at Philips Arena in Atlanta. Tipoff will be around 8:37 p.m., or 30 minutes after the first South Regional semifinal between Loyola Chicago and Nevada. The game will be televised on CBS.

Here are five things to know about John Calipari’s Wildcats as both teams prepare for the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament:

1. Kentucky is red hot. It didn’t seem like Kentucky was destined for a special season last month when it lost four straight games and fell to 17-9. Some wondered if the Wildcats, who sported a sub-.500 SEC record, would even make the Big Dance.

Since then, Kentucky closed the regular season with four wins in its final five games, won a trophy at the SEC Tournament and then a pair of NCAA Tournament games over Davidson and Buffalo last week in Boise, Idaho. The Wildcats have won nine of their last 10, including five straight in tournament play.

They are the perfect example of a team peaking at the right time — in March.

2. Freshman phenoms. As usual, Kentucky is a freshman-dominated team. Its five leading scorers are all fresh out of high school.

Few coaches can win with that kind of youth on the roster, but Calipari has consistently thrived by recruiting one-and-done players. This year is no different.

Kevin Knox, a 6-foot-9 freshman forward, has been the team’s best all-around player. He averages 15.6 points and 5.3 rebounds, regularly finding ways to help the Wildcats inside and out.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has led the way at point guard as a freshman, averaging 14.4 points, 5.1 assists and 4.1 rebounds.

Other freshman contributors: P.J. Washington, Hamidou Diallo, Quade Green, Jarred Vanderbilt and Nick Richards.

K-State will have more experience than Kentucky, but this talented crop of young UK players has had 36 games together.

3. Big frontcourt, big problem? Kentucky might have the biggest frontcourt K-State has faced this season.

Starting forward P.J. Washington is 6-7, top rebounder Jarred Vanderbilt is 6-9 and so is Kevin Knox. Oh, and the Wildcats bring Sacha Killeya-Jones (6-10) and Nick Richards (6-11) off the bench.

That won’t the easiest of matchups for the rotation K-State has employed in its past three games while Dean Wade was sidelined because of a foot injury. It’s easy to see why Wade is motivated to return to action against this opponent. K-State needs him.

Makol Mawien has played well, particularly on defense, in the NCAA Tournament, but he has often struggled to stay out of foul trouble while defending bigger forwards. Wade could take considerable pressure off Mawien at the four.

Otherwise, it will be up to reserves Levi Stockard and James Love to help inside.

Even with Wade, it will be a battle. Kentucky averages 39 rebounds per game.

4. Efficiency is Kentucky’s calling card on offense. The Wildcats can score a whole bunch of points without taking many shots.

Kentucky has made 47.3 percent of its shots from the field and 35.7 percent of its three-pointers this season. Buffalo tried to beat UK in a fast-paced game and lost 95-75. Davidson came out firing and lost 78-73.

K-State has taken considerable pride on defense in this NCAA Tournament, holding Creighton to 59 points and Maryland-Baltimore County to 43, but Kentucky has topped 80 points six different times during its recent hot streak.

5. Atlanta is SEC country. Kentucky will benefit from a big crowd advantage at Philips Arena. Atlanta is the unofficial capital of SEC country and UK fans flock to the city every time their team plays there. K-State will need to be prepared to block out crowd noise.