Kentucky's NCAA Tournament matchup with 10-Seed Santa Clara will be much tougher than most imagine

It is the favorite day for every Kentucky basketball fan as the NCAA Tournament bracket is finally here. The Wildcats are officially a seven-seed in the NCAA Tournament and will get the Big Dance kicked off on Friday, taking on the Santa Clara Broncos of the WCC. The Wildcats are in the Midwest Region and will play their first weekend's games in St. Louis, Missouri.

If the Wildcats are able to take down the Broncos, they will play the winner of #2 Seed Iowa State and #15 Seed Tennessee State. Obviously, most would assume the Wildcats would play Iowa State if they were to take down Santa Clara.

Chris Hammond — March 10, 2026; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Santa Clara Broncos guard Christian Hammond (1) shoots the basketball against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second half at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

On social media, it seems most Kentucky fans are very happy with the draw of Santa Clara, but this Broncos team is very dangerous. The other ten seeds in the NCAA Tournament were Missouri, Texas A&M, and UCF. Obviously, Kentucky has a 1-2 record against those teams, and of the four ten seeds, Santa Clara is ranked the highest on KenPom.

Fans have to remember the Wildcats were a seven-seed, so there won’t be any kind of easy draw. The Wildcats are playing a team that they should beat if they play well, but this Kentucky team has been inconsistent, and fans never know which team will show up.

If the good version of Kentucky shows up, they should win this game and cover. If they play poorly, they have a real shot to lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Mar 13, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope yells to his team against the Florida Gators during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

As a team, Santa Clara is 23rd in the nation in three-point attempts per game at 29.2. They shoot 34.6% from deep as a team and have two players who shoot over 40%. The Broncos have eight players with 80+ three-point attempts on the season and five players with 100+ three-point attempts on the season.

Kentucky has struggled to guard the three-point line all season long, so this Santa Clara team that loves to shoot the three-ball could be a real issue if they are hot from deep. The point of bringing all of these facts up is not meant to scare Kentucky fans. Rather, the point is to show that while Santa Clara might not be a big-name team, they are very good, and Mark Pope’s team needs to come out ready to play.

Kentucky did get a favorable draw in the NCAA Tournament, but it won’t be easy for this team to make a deep run as a seven-seed. The Wildcats, for the most part, played well in Nashville, so hopefully this will carry over into the NCAA Tournament.