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Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Oweh (00) celebrates with teammates after shooting a three point basket to tie the game against the Santa Clara Broncos as time expired in the second half of a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Jeff Le-Imagn Images

Miracle buzzer-beater saves Kentucky from upset against Santa Clara

By Sean Keane | Last updated Mar 20, 2026 3:21 PM ET

Allen Graves' last second three-pointer looked like it would give Santa Clara its first NCAA Tournament win since 1996. Then Otega Oweh banked in a three-pointer from near halfcourt to save the Kentucky Wildcats from an upset.

Oweh's 32-foot bank shot forced overtime, where Brandon Garrison blocked three shots in the extra period. Seven-seed Kentucky survived 10-seed Santa Clara, 89-84, in a huge win for embattled Wildcats coach Mark Pope.

Kentucky and Santa Clara traded haymakers down the stretch

After a defense battle in the first half, both teams picked up the scoring in the second period. Graves played sparingly due to foul trouble in the first half, but finished with 17 points. Oweh was even more explosive, putting up 35 points on 11-for-24 shooting, plus eight rebounds and seven assists.

Despite Oweh's huge game, the Broncos still led by two in the final minute, setting up a frantic few final seconds. Then Oweh spun in for a layup with nine seconds left, Graves put up his go-ahead three and Oweh answered with a shot with 0.2 seconds on the clock that's guaranteed to be part of the "One Shining Moment" montage at tournament's end.

THIS
IS
MARCH pic.twitter.com/OcAKNgerqm
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 20, 2026

Win was significant for both head coaches

Both Pope and Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek have a long history with Kentucky, where Pope played for Coach Rick Pitino's 1996 title team and Sendek worked as Pitino's assistant from 1989-93. Pope took over as Kentucky's head coach in 2024 and took his team to the Sweet Sixteen, but this year's team was a disappointing 21-13 after being ranked No. 9 before the season.

The pressure to win at a powerhouse like Kentucky means that Pope's always on the hot seat, but advancing to the second round should cool his seat off temporarily. Oweh deserves a ton of credit for his shotmaking all game long, but it was Garrison, playing with four fouls, who slammed the door on the Broncos with six blocks, three coming on Sash Gavalyugov shots in overtime.

Brandon Garrison BLOCK
Brandon Garrison SLAM@kentuckymbb pic.twitter.com/CkYofDY32i
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 20, 2026

For Sendek, it's a heartbreaking loss for a program he's rebuilt over the last 10 years. Santa Clara became a perennial NIT team and produced two first-round picks in Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Brandin Podziemski of the Golden State Warriors in recent years.

Santa Clara hadn't won an NCAA Tournament game or even reached the Big Dance since Hall of Famer Steve Nash was a Bronco in 1996. This would have been the biggest win for Sendek's school in three decades, especially as Santa Clara's West Coast Conference will be taking a hit with Gonzaga's move to the Pac-12 next season.

Sendek and the Broncos were two seconds away from glory. But they didn't bank on Oweh's miracle shot.

Sean Keane

Sean Keane is a sportswriter and a comedian based in Oakland, California, with experience covering the NBA, MLB, NFL and Ice Cube’s three-on-three basketball league, The Big 3. He’s written for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” ESPN the Magazine, and Audible. com

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