Kentucky vs Santa Clara: Upset Alert

0:00On March 16, Kentucky Wildcats earned a number-seven seed in the NCAA Tournament and opened against number-10 Santa Clara Broncos on Friday in St. Louis. It's a matchup drawing tons of buzz as one of the top potential upsets, with national experts largely expecting the Broncos to send the cats packing. Early, Santa Clara brings real strengths to the table, ranking high nationally enforcing turnovers, offensive rebounding, and scoring efficiency. They've drained 10 or more 3-pointers in over 20 games this season, a style that has tripped up Kentucky during its up and down year. Media voices are piling on the upset hype. Riders at the athletic called it the easiest pick in their brackets, while CVS sports networks full crew and broadcasters like John Fanta went with. The Broncos too. Even some who rank Kentucky higher still see Santa Clara pulling it off. Analytics paint a tight picture. Intermodels like Bart Torvik give Santa Clara a 51% win chance in a projected razor-close

1:02game, and brackets in show mixed results. Vegas lists Kentucky as a three-and-a-half point favorite, but betting public leans toward the Broncos on the spread. All this doubt amps up the stakes for Mark Pope Squad as they chase a deeper run past a hungry Santa Clara team in his first tournament dance in 30 years.