The Santa Clara Broncos and the Kentucky Wildcats meet Friday in college basketball action from Enterprise Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Santa Clara Broncos vs. Kentucky Wildcats prediction.
Santa Clara Broncos Recap
The Santa Clara Broncos come into this game as the 10-seed, finishing the year at 26-8 out of the West Coast Conference.
Broncos Looking For Upset
Christian Hammond leads the Broncos in scoring with 15.6 PPG along with 2.9 RPG and 2.4 APG while Elijah Mahi has 14.1 PPG with 4.7 RPG and 2.7 APG and Allen Graves has 11.6 PPG with 6.4 RPG to lead the Broncos in rebounding and to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for Santa Clara so far this season. Bukky Oboye has 8 PPG with 4.2 RPG. Brenton Knapper has 7.9 PPG with 2.3 APG and Sash Gavalyugov has 8.8 PPG with 2.6 APG. Jake Ensminger also has 6.4 PPG with 5.5 RPG and 3 APG to lead Santa Clara in assists so far this season. As a team, Santa Clara is averaging 83.3 PPG on 47.1% shooting from the field, 34.9% from three and 73.4% from the foul line so far this season.
Why the Santa Clara Broncos will win
- Santa Clara has won 16 of its last 17 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Kentucky has lost three of its last four games against the West Coast Conference.
Kentucky Wildcats Recap
The Kentucky Wildcats come into this game as the 7-seed out of the SEC posting a 21-13 record overall this season.
Wildcats Looking To Take Steps In Right Direction In Tournament
Otega Oweh leads the Wildcats in scoring with 17 PPG along with 4.4 RPG and 2.5 APG while Denzel Aberdeen has 12.5 PPG with 2.4 RPG and a team-high 3.2 APG to lead Kentucky in assists as the only other double-digit scorer for Kentucky so far this season. Collin Chandler has 9.7 PPG with 3 RPG and 2.2 APG while Malachi Moreno has 8.5 PPG with a team-high 6.4 RPG and Mouhamed Diabate has 8.4 PPG with 5.4 RPG this season. As a team, Kentucky is averaging 81.6 PPG on 47% shooting from the field, 34.9% from three and 72.4% from the foul line this season.
Why the Kentucky Wildcats will win
- Kentucky has won 37 of its last 38 Friday games against non-Conference opponents.
- Santa Clara has lost four of its last five day games played at neutral venues.
Total Points Facts
- Thirty of Kentucky’s last 34 NCAA Tournament games have produced a total of 156 or fewer points.
- Six of Santa Clara’s last seven day games have produced a total of 158+ points.
Santa Clara Broncos vs. Kentucky Wildcats Prediction
I’m on the Broncos and the points here. I just think this Santa Clara team is really good and I think it’s telling that this line is so short against the name brand in Kentucky. I haven’t been sold on Kentucky for much of the year in fairness, and this is still a different team outside of Rupp Arena. Give me Santa Clara and the points.