Jack Gohlke Shot Oakland To A March Madness Upset Over Kentucky

The recipe to pull upsets in the NCAA Tournament usually revolves around the three-point line. On Thursday night in Pittsburgh, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies followed that blueprint to stun the Kentucky Wildcats, 80-76, in the 14-3 game in the South Region. It marks the second time in three years that the Wildcats failed to get out of the first round — back in 2021, the team lost a 15-2 game to Saint Peter’s.

The hero of the night was Jack Gohlke, a graduate senior guard who came to Oakland from D2 Hillsdale College. Gohlke, who attempted 327 threes and eight twos, let it fly from deep early and often, and the Wildcats just had no answer. He had 32 points on the evening and went 10-for-20 from the field, with each of his shots coming from deep. Of those 10 triples, seven came in the first half.

The three-point line, in general, was kind to Oakland on the evening. They were able to score on a porous Kentucky defense, which included a 15-for-31 clip from deep. That, along with a double-double by Trey Townsend (17 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block) was just too much for John Calipari’s squad to handle.

While the Wildcats were able to put up points of their own, they just could not get stops, while their two projected NBA Draft Lottery picks, Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham, struggled mightily. The pair combined for 13 points on 3-for-14 shooting with a combined 10 turnovers. Despite Antonio Reeves going for 27 points, it wasn’t enough to get his team past the Golden Grizzlies.

With the win, Oakland will move on to play either Texas Tech or NC State on Saturday.