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Tim Brando calls Denzel Aberdeen's end of game dunk against Santa Clara 'bush league'

Danby: Daniel Hager03/21/26DanielHagerOn3

FOX Sports’ broadcaster Tim Brando was NOT a fan of Kentucky guard Denzel Aberdeen‘s end of game dunk in the Wildcats’ 89-84 overtime win over Santa Clara in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

Santa Clara guard Jake Ensminger‘s missed three-point shot with the Broncos down 87-82 with 12 seconds remaining in overtime, all but ending the game. Kentucky forward Mo Dioubate, however, grabbed the rebound and kicked it down the court for a wide open Aberdeen slam.

Just after the play, Brando took to X/Twitter to call the dunk ‘bush league’.

“Kentucky didn’t need that DUNK and it’ll be discussed!” Brando wrote in one tweet. In another, Brando called Aberdeen’s dunk a ‘terrible decision.’ “Herb Sendek recruited Pope to UK when he worked for Rick Pitino, and that handshake line proves the point. A terrible decision by that kid to dunk that last shot. Bush League!”

Kentucky held off Santa Clara 89-84 to advance to Round of 32

The game between Kentucky and Santa Clara was easily the most entertaining of the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. After exchanging leads back and forth for the final five minutes of regulation, Santa Clara forward Allen Graves drilled a go-ahead three-point shot with two seconds remaining. All-SEC Kentucky guard Otega Oweh, however, delivered a March Madness moment by hitting a near half-court banked in three-pointer to send the game to overtime.

In overtime, the ‘Cats avoided the upset and came away with the five-point victory. It’s easy to call the Aberdeen dunk ‘bush league’, but in overtime of a March Madness game, the adrenaline is through the roof. It’s certainly hard to make a judgment call, and that decision ended with an emphatic dunk to officially send Kentucky to the Second Round for the second consecutive season.

“I’m happy for our guys. I’m actually going to probably sound terrible, but I’m happy for Santa Clara, too,” Kentucky had coach Mark Pope said postgame. “Just the fact that they got to be a part of such an epic game, such a dramatic game. It’s what you want out of March. And I’m happy for our guys.”

“These guys keep getting up, man. Like we get knocked down, but they keep getting up and they keep getting up and keep getting up. And for it to lead to moments like this where we’ve had moments like this throughout the year, where guys had to get back up and do it. I love it, and the fact that we got to do it in a NCAA Tournament is special.”

No. 7 Kentucky returns to the court on Sunday against No. 2 Iowa State for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:45 PM ET on CBS.