The match is set: the Kentucky Wildcats will face off against the Santa Clara Broncos on Friday at 12:15 pm in a 7 vs 10 matchup, with the Wildcats earning their first-ever 7-seed and the Broncos taking the 10-seed. The victor will face the winner of the 2 vs 15 matchup of Iowa State and Tennessee State.
Kentucky rarely finds itself in this part of the bracket in the Round of 64, but history also shows a first-round dominance they’ve had regardless of seed. They’ve not been upset very often as a top-5
seed, but also not knocked off as a lower seed very often either. Some of the games have been very close as well, with multiple overtime contests and last-second shots being the difference in the opening round.
Let’s take a look at Kentucky’s Round of 64 NCAA Tournament history since the tourney expanded in 1985:
Kentucky Basketball in the Round of 64:
- All-time record: 30-4
- Record as 5-seed or better: 25-2
- Record as 6-seed or worse: 5-2
- Record as the higher-seeded team: 1-1
- Overtime games: 2 (2OT in 2000 and OT in 2022)
- Most recent appearance: 76-57 over Troy in 3 vs 14 game, Milwaukee region, Friday, 3/21/2025
Other notes:
- Kentucky’s all-time record against Santa Clara is 1-0. The Broncos came to Rupp on December 19th, 2006, and the Wildcats won 74-60.
- Kentucky’s first round record is helped a lot by the fact that, in the 34 NCAA Tournaments they’ve played in since 1985, they’ve been a 5-seed or better in 27 of those 34 appearances. But when they’ve been a 6, 8, 11, and even a 12-seed, they’ve still managed to go 6-3.
- Their overtime games have been a 2OT thriller over St. Bonaventure, where they defeated the Bonnies as a 5-seed 85-80, and an infamous OT defeat to St. Peter’s as a 2-seed 79-85.
Kentucky was battle-tested by the SEC this season and had a strong showing in the SEC Tournament to send them into St. Louis with some momentum. Santa Clara hasn’t played many teams like Kentucky this season and the Wildcats have history on their side when it comes to the Round of 64. Hopefully, this Friday’s slate of games starts off on a happy note, and UK gets a win to send them on to Sunday.
The Madness is about to begin! Go Cats!
