Kentucky vs. Santa Clara prediction, odds: 2026 March Madness Round of 64 picks, best bets

Day 2 of the March Madness Round of 64 should be highly entertaining, beginning with the Kentucky Wildcats against the Santa Clara Broncos at 12:15 p.m. ET.

The seventh-seeded Wildcats open as 3.5-point favorites against the 10th-seeded Broncos in what many expect to be a tightly contested Midwest Region game.

The Wildcats are your typical blue blood in the tournament as one of the premium teams in contention and represent the loaded SEC Conference.

Kentucky vs. Santa Clara prediction

Kentucky was rated the No. 9 preseason team by the Associated Press, but the Wildcats disappointed a bit with a 21-13 overall record while competing in a stout conference.

They closed the season with an up-and-down 5-5 record, which included wins against Tennessee (No. 6-seed) and Vanderbilt (No. 5-seed).

While two losses to No. 1-seed Florida in that stretch are forgivable, the defeats to Georgia, Texas A&M, and Auburn are much more concerning.

Santa Clara Broncos forward Elijah Mahi. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Still, the Wildcats have tons of talent and could easily make quick work of the Broncos if they play up to their potential.

Santa Clara posted a 26-8 regular season mark and a 15-3 mark in the WCC before losing to Gonzaga in the conference championship game.

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How you view this clash could come down to which model you prefer.

KenPom has Kentucky rated No. 28, with Santa Clara sitting at No. 34.

Bart Torvik’s model has the Broncos rated much higher, coming in at No. 29, and Kentucky at No. 31.

Santa Clara is the better offensive team, while the Wildcats are the stronger defensive squad.

My model favors the Wildcats a bit, but I’ll take the Over instead, as the projected score is 83.76 to 78.78.

That gives a bet on Over 160.5 points, which we get at a 2.38 percent edge.

PREDICTION: Over 160.5 total points (-110, BetMGM)

Why Trust New York Post Betting

Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting. During the football season he’s showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons. While constantly betting long shots, his return on investment is 30.15 percent since 2022.