Within the NCAA Tournament bracket, there are so many ways to look at it and so many factors that could play a role in making your picks in your brackets.
For the Kentucky Wildcats, they will have one key advantage on Friday afternoon in St. Louis against Santa Clara. When the game tips off Friday at 12:15 E.T., which is 11:15 a.m. C.T., it will also be 9:15 a.m. P.T. in Santa Clara.
For a West Coast team, that is really early.
In addition, this is just the second game Santa Clara will play East of
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Think about that for a minute. This is just the second time all season Santa Clara is playing East of the Rocky Mountains. That is crazy to think about.
How will the Broncos adjust to the time change? This could be the deciding factor in the game.
Also, the earliest start time for the Broncos this season was a 2:00 P.T. tipoff on December 20th at home against Loyola Chicago. They lost that game 80-78 to a team that is ranked 280th in KenPom.
The Broncos have only played six games all season not in either California, Oregon, or Washington. I’ve never seen a schedule like that. Perhaps this will have an impact on the Broncos. Time will tell.
But for a team that has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1996, it will be an early morning for their fans in Santa Clara and St. Louis.
