When the season began, Kentucky Wildcats fans imagined they’d potentially be playing a No. 10 seed in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, Big Blue Nation has to deal with the beast that is Santa Clara in their 7-10 matchup Friday afternoon in St. Louis.
The Broncos’ all-time NCAA Tournament résumé is not nearly as lavish as the Wildcats’ (to be fair, few schools compare to the 8-time national champions in that regard). But that doesn’t mean Santa Clara is incapable of beating Kentucky, especially when its head coach learned under “The Godfather” in Lexington.
Here are 3 things Big Blue Nation should know about Santa Clara:
1. Herb Sendek used to be Kentucky’s assistant coach
You may have known this already, but it’s worth repeating. Sendek, the Broncos’ head coach — who has been an NCAA head coach for the better part of 3 decades — was once a Wildcat. From 1989-1993, Sendek was an assistant for Rick Pitino. He spent 2 years (1985-87) on Pitino’s staff at Providence before rejoining him at Kentucky. In fact, the Wildcats’ assistant position was the last non-head coaching gig Sendek held prior to taking the Miami (OH) job.
Sendek spent 3 seasons with the RedHawks (1993-96), then worked for NC State (1996-2006) and Arizona State (2006-2015). He went to 8 NCAA Tournaments in that time, including 5 straight for the Wolfpack (2002-06). He recorded his 600th career win when Santa Clara beat Saint Mary’s in the West Coast Conference semifinals. His all-time NCAA Tournament record is 7-8, with a buzzer-beating loss to Texas in his last appearance.
2. Santa Clara won an NCAA Tournament game as a No. 15 seed
This is the Broncos’ fifth NCAA Tournament appearance since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985. They failed to win a game in their 1987 trip, but pulled off an absolute stunner their next go-round. In 1993, they defeated No. 2 seed Arizona 64-61 to become the second-ever 15 seed to advance in the Big Dance.
Future NBA MVP Steve Nash is the big-name referenced when Santa Clara’s iconic victory is discussed. The true freshman played a big role down the stretch — 8 of his 10 points came at the charity stripe — and had a team-high 4 assists, but he did not even start in the game. Forwards Pete Eisenrich (19 points, 8 rebounds) and DeWayne Lewis (13 points, 7 rebounds) led the way offensively. Defensively, Eisenrich added 4 blocks, while guard John Woolery had 6 steals.
Overall, the Broncos are 11-13 in the NCAA Tournament. They’ve been to 1 Final Four (1952), where they lost to Kansas. Their last NCAA Tournament appearance, in 1996, also ended with a loss to the Jayhawks.
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3. Santa Clara’s last NCAA Tournament win came as a No. 10 seed
Kentucky fans surely hope this isn’t a sign of things to come. Before Santa Clara lost to Kansas in the second round of the 1996 NCAA Tournament, the No. 10-seed Broncos defeated the No. 7-seed Maryland Terrapins 91-79. Nash, now a senior, had a game-high 28 points and 12 assists to prevail over a Terp squad that had 4 future NBA players on its roster.
This Santa Clara team doesn’t have a slam-dunk NBA Draft pick like Nash, but it still has some international flavor. Four of its 7 leading scorers are from outside the United States. If the Wildcats are to move on and (likely) face Iowa State, they’ll have to slow down the Broncos’ entire stable. Kentucky and Santa Clara kick off Day 2 of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at 12:15 p.m. E.T. (CBS).
Will Kentucky avoid an upset? Kalshi currently gives the Wildcats a 60% chance to pull off the Round 1 win:
