The Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Santa Clara Broncos 89-84 in overtime in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament on March 20, 2026, at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Kentucky guard Otega Oweh scored a layup with nine seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 70-70. Santa Clara guard Allen Graves hit a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining to give the Broncos a 73-70 lead.

With no timeouts remaining, Kentucky inbounded to Oweh, who ran the length of the floor and banked in a 3-pointer from 32 feet at the buzzer to force overtime at 73-73. Oweh, a transfer from Oklahoma, finished with 35 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. He is the younger brother of Odafe Oweh, defensive end for the NFL's Washington Commanders.^[1]

Oweh told CBS after the game that he aimed to get as close to the basket as possible on the inbound. He described it as the best game he had ever played in.

In overtime, Kentucky secured the win. Teammates Denzel Aberdeen added 16 points, Mouhamed Dioubate 17 points and Brandon Garrison 10 points. Elijah Mahi led Santa Clara with 20 points.

The Enterprise Center, home of the NHL's St. Louis Blues, has hosted NCAA tournament games in the past.^[2] Kentucky will face the winner of the second-round matchup between No. 2 seed Iowa State and No. 15 seed Tennessee State.

Sources

1. Wikipedia, "Otega Oweh", accessed October 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otega_Oweh
2. Wikipedia, "Enterprise Center", accessed October 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_Center