Kentucky Wildcats Face Upset Risk in NCAA Tournament

0:00On March 17th, the Kentucky Wildcats earned the 7th seed in the Midwest region for this year's NCAA Tournament. They faced the 10th seed at Santa Clara Broncos on Friday afternoon. Kentucky finished the regular season at 21 wins and 13 losses, while Santa Clara posted a strong 26 wins and 8 losses. Kentucky has slipped from last year's 3rd seed status when they fell to Tennessee in the sweet 16th. Now, head coach Mark Pope faces pressure in this first round match-up. A loss here would mark the 3rd opening round exit for the Wildcats in their last 5 tournament appearances. Analysts are sounding alarms about a potential early upset. CBS Sports' Isaac Trotter highlighted Santa Clara's deep bench in balanced scoring as major threats. He doubts Kentucky can string together enough strong play to advance far. Kentucky struggled to 9th place in the SEC standings, while Santa Clara grabbed 3rd in the West Coast Conference. The Wildcats lack a true point guard and often star slow, digging out of deficits even

1:00in wins. If they survive the Broncos, a tough second round clash with second-seated Iowa State looms. Many picks favor Santa Clara pulling off the win, which could spell another tough finish for Wildcats fans hoping for a deep-march run.