Source: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty
The
Wildcats are among one of the first round-of-64’s big upsets after they took on the No. 14 Oakland Golden Grizzlies.
The No. 3 team proved to be no match, falling 80-76 in a game that seemed to be going as planned at first as they missed their first seven shots of the game. But after that the game was on, thanks to an insane three-point performance.
They hit 15 out of the 31 three-pointers, led by Jack Gohlke, the game’s leading scorer, who has gone viral for his
March Madness performance.
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He made 10 three-pointers against Kentucky, who’s ironically been the leading beyond-the-arc shooting team in the entire NCAA this season.
It started off with a fury of threes in the first quarter, but as the second began and Oakland led 38-35, he just kept going.
Mind you, Gohlke didn’t make any two-pointers last night –in fact he’s only taken eight attempts the entire season– and credits the bright lights for his Cinderella-esque performance.
“It’s something I’ve worked so hard for my whole career,” Gohlke told
CBS. “Coach just instills confidence in me, gives me the freedom to influence the game in a positive way. It’s a dream. This is why players work so hard, to get to this stage.”
The game was iced in the last minute, with Trey Townsend making two free throws and DQ Cole’s clutch three.
While Oakland’s win was clear, their future in the tourney is still uncertain, and Kentucky’s getting the boot this early is even more telling.
It’s become a trend for Kentucky not to get past the first weekend. The last two years, they were knocked out by Kansas St, famously Saint Peters, and didn’t even make it to the tournament in 2021.
After the defeat, Kentucky head coach John Calipari took some of the blame for his team’s poor performance.
“We made some critical mistakes at critical times again today,”
he said. “When you have a really young team and look at where the mistakes come from, they were freshmen.
But despite Calipari’s latest blunder, it creates a bigger issue for Kentucky and their future with the legendary coach. If they do decide to find a new coach, team brass will owe him
$33 million in a buyout.
See how social media is reacting to Big Blue taking a tumble below.