Santa Clara vs. Kentucky odds, prediction: 2026 NCAA Tournament picks from proven model

The 10th-seeded Santa Clara Broncos will face the seventh-seeded Kentucky Wildcats in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region on Friday. Santa Clara is coming off a 79-68 loss to Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game on March 10, while Kentucky dropped a 71-63 decision to Florida in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals on Friday. The Broncos (26-8), who placed third in the WCC standings at 15-3, have won three of four games. The Wildcats (21-13), who finished tied for seventh in the Southeastern Conference at 10-8, have won two of their last three.

Tip-off from Enterprise Center in St. Louis is set for 12:15 p.m. ET. Kentucky leads the all-time series 1-0, registering a 74-60 win in 2007. Kentucky is a 3.5-point favorite in the latest Santa Clara vs. Kentucky odds from DraftKings Sportsbook, while the over/under for total points scored is 160.5. 

Before making any Santa Clara vs. Kentucky picks, check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times. It entered the 2026 NCAA Tournament on a sizzling 11-1 run on top-ranked over/under picks dating back to last year, and is on a 28-22 run on top-rated CBB side picks. Anyone following could have seen HUGE returns!

The model has simulated Santa Clara vs. Kentucky 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is going Under on the total, and it also says one side of the spread hits over 50% of the time!

So who wins Santa Clara vs. Kentucky, and which side of the spread hits over 50% of the time? Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model that has simulated this matchup 10,000 times!