NBA legend Steve Nash was suiting up for Santa Clara the last time the Broncos played in the NCAA Tournament.
Santa Clara (26-8) is in the Big Dance for the first time since 1996 after upsetting Saint Mary’s in the West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals and falling to Gonzaga in the championship game.
The Broncos earned a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament as three WCC teams earned bids for the first time since 2022. The Zags are a No. 3 seed, and the Gaels are a No. 7 seed.
Santa Clara is facing a college basketball blueblood in No. 7 Kentucky (21-13) at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, in the first round on Friday.
RELATED: 2026 March Madness Odds
The Wildcats are having a down season by their lofty standards, but they’re in the Big Dance for the 31st time since 1992. They’ve won three national championships in that span, claiming the title in 1996, 1998, and 2012.
Kentucky was the No. 9 seed in the SEC Tournament after dropping its final two regular-season games. The Wildcats knocked off LSU and Missouri in the tournament before falling, 84-77, to Florida in the finals.
The Wildcats are led by 6-foot-4, 220-pound guard Otega Oweh, who has scored at least 20 points in 11 of the past 14 games. He put up 23 points against LSU in the first round of the SEC Tournament and a season-high 29 against Auburn in February.
Oweh averages 18.2 points and 4.6 rebounds a game. Denzel Aberdeen, a 6-foot-5 transfer from Florida, is adding 13.2 points a night, while 6-foot-5 guard Collin Chandler is chipping in with 9.9 points a night and shooting 43 percent from 3-point range.
Santa Clara ranks No. 2 in the WCC with 82.9 points a game and No. 3 with a +3.24 turnover margin. The Broncos are one win shy of tying their program-record 27 victories they racked up in 1968-69.
They’re led this season by 6-foot-4 sophomore Christian Hammond, who is shooting 49% from the floor, 40% from 3-point range, and averaging 15.8 points a night. Six-foot-7 forward Elijah Mahi is adding 13.9 points and 4.7 rebounds a game, and WCC Freshman of the Year Allen Graves is averaging 11.6 points and 6.5 rebounds a game and leads the team with 67 steals.
New Customer Offers at BetMGM
Bonus Bets Expire in 7 Days. One New Customer Offer Only. Add’l Terms
Kentucky vs. Santa Clara Odds
Kentucky is a 3.5-point college basketball betting odds favorite on BetMGM as of this writing, and the Over/Under is at 160.5 points.
The Moneyline is at -160 for Kentucky and +135 for Santa Clara.
Kentucky vs. Santa Clara On TV
The first round NCAA Tournament game featuring No. 10 Santa Clara and No. 7 Kentucky will be televised on CBS.
Tip-off is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. ET.
Kentucky vs. Santa Clara Prediction
I predict Santa Clara wins, 78-73.
Neither Santa Clara nor Kentucky has a dominant rebounder, but I think the Broncos are better as a team in that area. Mahi and Graves are a lot to deal with under the basket, as both Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga learned this season.
The Broncos beat Saint Mary’s twice this year thanks in large part to their ability to rebound and their ability to get hot from 3-point at a moment’s notice. Graves is shooting 41% from beyond the arc, and 6-foot-3 freshman Sash Gavalyugov came off the bench and went 5-for-9 from downtown against Saint Mary’s in the WCC semifinals. It was the fourth time this season that he hit at least five 3-pointers in a game.
With no dominant rebounder, Kentucky is going to need its stars to light up the scoreboard. They have the talent to do it, but the Broncos are no joke on defense. They’re giving up 72.4 points a game and holding teams to 32% from 3-point range.
