ST. LOUIS — There is a common denominator in the 13 losses Kentucky carries into the NCAA Tournament. All Santa Clara must do to have its best chance of reaching the second round on Friday is keep the Wildcats from scoring.
The mission sounds simple, but assuredly seventh-seeded Kentucky (21-13) will not make it easy on 10th-seeded Santa Clara (26-8) in the early tipoff of their Midwest Region game on the second day of the NCAA Tournament.
“I’m familiar with Big Blue, spent four years of my career on the bench at Kentucky,” Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek said. “Very aware that they have a talent-rich team, outstanding coach and we’re excited for the opportunity to go play.”
A well-publicized $22 million roster investment failed to net the big gains Kentucky hoped for this season under coach Mark Pope. While signs of reaching those heights appeared on occasion, the most familiar common opponent for the Wildcats and Broncos is Gonzaga. The WCC champions beat Santa Clara three times, but never to the extent of the drubbing the Zags put on Kentucky, 94-59, in December.
Santa Clara has a defense built to cause turnovers by interrupting passing lanes and cutting off downhill attacks into the lane. The Broncos force more than 14 turnovers per game.
“They have tremendous length. They’re shooting the ball at a tremendous clip. They’ll put five guys on the floor that all really shoot it,” Pope said. “Size-wise, their front line, three, four, and five, is so big, and their guards are really effective at getting downhill.”
In losses this season, Kentucky has averaged 71.8 points per game compared to 86.0 per game in its 21 victories.
And Kentucky has found the most trouble defensively when it fails to guard at the 3-point line. Teams average 9.5 made 3s when they beat Kentucky, only 6.1 per game when the Wildcats win.
Pope came to Kentucky as a player one year after Sendek’s four-year stint as a Rick Pitino assistant (1989-93) in Lexington. Sendek beat Pope the past three times they met when Pope was head coach at BYU. Pope won the first meeting over Sendek and Santa Clara in 2019-20.
“He was the first assistant to reach out to me when Kentucky started recruiting me,” Pope said of Sendek. “One of the best people you’ll ever meet.”
Twelve of Kentucky’s losses came against NCAA Tournament teams (Auburn, 75-74, is the exception). Sendek and the Broncos have to contend with Otega Oweh, who averages 18.2 points per game, and Denzel Aberdeen (13.2).
Santa Clara has three players averaging more than 11.5 points per game. Christian Hammond leads the Broncos at 15.8 points per game but freshman Allen Graves (11.6) has emerged as a dynamic playmaker.
Pope is expecting an SEC-level challenge.
“They will press all game long. Most of it man-to-man,” Pope said. “They get a lot of steals playing the gaps. Their 5s are really good at shooting the gaps on lift possessions. Really handsy. They’ll grab and hold and scratch and claw like a lot of SEC teams.”
