Jack Gohlke made 10 three-pointers and 14th-seeded Oakland delivered the first true shock 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 sent the Wildcats to another early March exit behind Gohlke, a graduate transfer who finished with 32 points, and some late shot-making by his teammates. The Wildcats and their roster stacked with NBA prospects spent most of the night trying – and failing – to chase down Gohlke.
The 6ft 3in guard who came to the Grizzlies this season after playing for Division II Hillsdale College made 10 of 20 three-point attempts, seven in the first half, to fall one short of Jeff Fryer’s NCAA Tournament record, set in 1990 for Loyola Marymount. Gohlke’s only other points came after he was fouled – while attempting a three.
Gohlke cooled off a bit over the final 20 minutes while often getting picked up at halfcourt, but his teammates helped pick up the slack. Oakland never trailed over the final 14:32 to give the program its first victory in the round of 64.
The Wildcats came in as 13.5 point favorites, but with a poor recent track record in March under coach 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. Meantime, it was a triumph four decades in the making for Oakland coach Greg Kampe, the longest-tenured coach in Division I. The 68-year-old has spent 40 years at the commuter school in Rochester, Michigan, about 30 miles north of downtown Detroit.
The first shock of the day came when Dae Dae Grant scored 19 points, including four clinching free throws in the final 10 seconds, and No 11 seed Duquesne kept retiring coach Keith Dambrot working for a little bit longer with a 71-67 victory against sixth-seeded BYU.
Jakub Necas added 12 points and Jimmy Clark III had 11 as the Atlantic 10 tourney champs celebrated their return to the dance after 47 years with their first win there since 1969. The Dukes (25-11) advanced to play third-seeded Illinois for a spot in the Sweet 16 on Saturday.
“They just don’t want me to retire,” Dambrot said. “I’m trying to get to the promised land, and they’re making me keep coaching.”
The Cougars trailed by as many as 14 in the second half before drawing even when Fousseyni Traore, who had struggled all game, slammed down the second of back-to-back baskets to knot the game at 60-all with 1:45 to go but it was Duquesne who won through.
“Bust them brackets, baby! Bust them brackets, baby!” Clark roared as Duquesne headed back to the locker room.
There was another win for a No 11 seed when Oregon beat No 6 South Carolina 87-73 in the Midwest Region. Jermaine Couisnard, a former South Carolina player, torched his old teammates with 40 points.
Elsewhere on Thursday, Tyson Walker scored 19 points and Michigan State coach Tom Izzo picked up his 20th win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as his ninth-seeded Spartans beat eighth-seeded Mississippi State 69-51. There were also wins for No 1 West seed North Carolina and second-seeded Arizona.
Marcus Domask had the 10th triple-double in men’s tournament history, and third-seeded Illinois rallied past 14th-seeded Morehead State 85-69 in the first round of the East Region.
