Jay Bilas picks winner for Kentucky-Santa Clara Round 1 NCAA Tournament bout
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The Kentucky Wildcats have been maddeningly inconsistent all year.
At their best, the Wildcats look like a team with the talent to make a run to the Final Four. At their worst, they could get blown out by Santa Clara on Friday afternoon in St. Louis in Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament.
So which Kentucky team will show up on Friday? ESPN analyst Jay Bilas broke down every game of the 2026 tourney. He thinks preseason SEC Player of the Year Otega Oweh will help the Wildcats survive and advance to Round 2, where 2-seed Iowa State should be waiting:
Kentucky is banged up and inconsistent, and Santa Clara is big, skilled and has positional size at almost every position. To be clear: Kentucky could very well get upset here. I’m picking the Wildcats, though, assuming Otega Oweh has another big game.
Winner: Kentucky
Otega Oweh led the Wildcats with 18.2 points per game this season, 5 points more than second-leading scorer Denzel Aberdeen’s 13.2 points per contest. No one else on the team averaged 10+ points (though Collin Chandler is just a tick below at 9.9 ppg).
If Santa Clara can contain Oweh, an upset is possible. But, as he’s proven time and time again, limiting him is easier said than done.
The prediction market Kalshi gives Kentucky a 60% chance to defeat Santa Clara. Check out the market below:
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
