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No. 14 Oakland upsets No. 3 Kentucky behind Jack Gohlke’s 10 3-pointers

By Lukas Weese, Kyle Tucker and Andrew DeWitt

Oakland delivered the biggest upset so far on the opening day of the NCAA Tournament, birthed a new legend of March Madness and lit John Calipari’s seat completely on fire Thursday night. Behind Jack Gohlke’s 10 made 3-pointers and 32 points off the bench, the 14th-seeded Golden Grizzlies stunned No. 3 seed Kentucky, 80-76.

Gohlke, Oakland’s senior guard, recorded 10 3-pointers and scored 32 points on 10-of-20 shooting. He became the third player in NCAA Tournament history to attempt 20 3-pointers in a game.

“We’re not a Cinderella,” Gohlke said during a postgame interview.

Gohlke hit his first 3-pointer of Thursday’s game against Kentucky at the 13:52 mark of the first half. It was raining 3s at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh with Gohlke going 7-of-13 from beyond the arc in the first 14 minutes of the game.

“We’re not a Cinderella”

Jack Gohlke and Greg Kampe react to Oakland’s stunning upset over Kentucky 🐻#MarchMadness @OaklandMBB pic.twitter.com/KOC103aPWt

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 22, 2024

For the season, Gohlke has averaged 12.2 points per game on 37.3 percent shooting from the floor. He shot 37 percent from 3 in 2023-24.

A Pewaukee, Wis., native, Gohlke transferred to Oakland from Division II Hillsdale (Mich.) College. Gohlke, 24, began his college career at Hillsdale in 2018, putting him in the same freshman class as Zion Williamson.

As a team, Oakland made 15 3-pointers against Kentucky. Junior forward Trey Townsend had a double-double 17 points and 12 rebounds while junior guard DQ Cole added 12 points for Oakland on 3-of-8 shooting from the floor.

Coach Greg Kampe, 68, has spent 40 years at Oakland. In 2005, he guided Oakland to its first Division I NCAA Tournament appearance. Nineteen years later, Kampe has his first win in the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament.

“We just win close games,” Kampe said postgame. “We’ve done it all year.”

Calipari, a Hall of Fame coach who led the Wildcats to the 2012 national championship, has now failed to make the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for a fourth consecutive season. He missed the tournament in 2021, lost to 15-seed Saint Peter’s in 2022 and fell in the second round to Kansas State last year. Now this. Kentucky and athletic director Mitch Barnhart, for the first time since hiring Calipari in 2009, must seriously consider whether it’s time for a change.

One major deterrent is Calipari’s massive buyout, north of $30 million if he’s fired this offseason, but another postseason flameout should be enough to at least consider it.

“You go through this and the ups and downs of this sport, but this one I’m really hurting for them,” Calipari said after the game. “Because there’s other years you max out and you lose a game (but) this team I really felt could’ve done so much more. And our fans were here again. I feel bad for them.”

Kentucky entered its matchup with Oakland as 13.5-point favorites. The team from Rochester, Mich., had never won an NCAA Tournament game in the Round of 64.

But that didn’t matter on Thursday night.

A $100 bet on Oakland to win the game outright returned $800 to the bettor as the Golden Grizzlies were +700 on the moneyline at BetMGM.

Oakland awaits the winner of No. 6 Texas Tech and No. 11 NC State in the Round of 32.