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 24-year-old
Jack Gohlke made 10 3-pointers and 14th-seeded Oakland delivered the first
true shocker of this year's March Madness, beating third-seeded
Kentucky 80-76 in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday night.
The Grizzlies (24-11) sent the Wildcats (23-10) to another
early March exit behind Gohlke, a graduate transfer who finished with 32
points. The Wildcats and their roster stacked with
NBA prospects spent most of the night trying -- and failing -- to chase down
Gohlke.
The 6-foot-3 guard who came to the Grizzlies this season after
playing for Division II Hillsdale College made 10 of 20 3-point attempts,
seven in the first half. His only other points came
after he was fouled -- while attempting a 3.
The Wildcats came in with a poor recent track record in March
under John Calipari. Kentucky hasn't advanced past
the tournament's opening weekend since 2019, an uncomfortably long stretch
for Calipari and the second-winningest program in NCAA history.
Gohlke won the Horizon League's Sixth Man of the Year award
thanks to his outside shooting. All but eight of his
335 field goal attempts during the regular season were 3s,
and he now has made an NCAA-leading 131 this season.
Gohlke ended the game with the ball in his hands after one
final Kentucky miss as the Grizzlies became the 23rd 14-seed to win a
first-round game since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
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