Oakland delivers first true shock of March Insanity. Gohlke makes 10 3s in 80-76 win over Kentucky

Jack Gohlke made 10 3-pointers and 14th-seeded Oakland delivered the primary true shock of this 12 months’s March Insanity, beating third-seeded Kentucky 80-76 within the first spherical of the NCAA Match on Thursday night time.

The Grizzlies (24-11) despatched the Wildcats (23-10) to a different early March exit behind Gohlke, a graduate switch who completed with 32 factors, and a few late shot-making by his teammates. Trey Townsend had 17 factors for the Horizon League champions. DQ Cole added 12, together with a 3 from the nook with 28 seconds left that gave the Grizzlies a four-point lead.

Antonio Reeves led Kentucky with 27 factors. Tre Mitchell added 14 and Rob Dillingham scored 10, however the Wildcats and their roster stacked with NBA prospects spent many of the night time attempting — and failing — to chase down Gohlke.

The 6-foot-3 guard who got here to the Grizzlies this season after taking part in for Division II Hillsdale School made 10 of 20 3-point makes an attempt, seven within the first half. His solely different factors got here after he was fouled — whereas making an attempt a 3.

Gokhle cooled off a bit over the ultimate 20 minutes whereas typically getting picked up at halfcourt, however his teammates helped decide up the slack. Oakland by no means trailed over the ultimate 14:32 to provide this system its first victory within the spherical of 64.

The Wildcats got here in as 13 1/2 level favorites, in response to FanDuel Sportsbook, however with a poor latest observe report in March underneath John Calipari. Kentucky hasn’t superior previous the match’s opening weekend since 2019, an uncomfortably lengthy stretch for Calipari and the second-winningest program in NCAA historical past.

Calipari stated his job is to take the strain off his younger roster’s shoulders and place them on his. It will need to have felt awfully heavy at instances whereas Gohlke and the Bulldogs saved tempo with the second-highest-scoring crew within the nation.

Gohlke gained the Horizon League’s Sixth Man of the Yr award because of his outdoors capturing. All however eight of his 335 discipline objective makes an attempt through the common season have been 3s, and he now has made an NCAA-leading 131 this season. He saved firing away towards Kentucky, notably throughout an electrical first half that had nearly all of followers at PPG Paints Area on their toes and the Wildcats on their heels.

Gohlke caught out his tongue after his fifth 3. When his sixth fell by way of the online, he circled and mimicked Michael Jordan’s well-known shoulder shrug through the 1992 NBA finals. Gohlke — who in fact wears No. 3 — then banked in his seventh because the Grizzlies constructed a 38-35 halftime lead that had everybody within the crowd not sporting Kentucky blue roaring, simply as longtime Oakland coach Greg Kampe hoped.

That momentum carried all the best way to the ultimate buzzer because the Grizzlies gave the NCAA’s longest-tenured coach a second he’d been constructing towards over 40 years with this system.

Gohlke ended the sport with the ball in his palms after one remaining Kentucky miss because the Grizzlies grew to become the twenty third 14 seed to win a first-round recreation because the match expanded to 64 groups in 1985.

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AP March Insanity bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and protection: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness