March Madness has a beautiful power that can turn previously anonymous figures into cult heroes who enjoy a newfound, albeit often brief, nationwide following.

On the first full day of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Jack Gohlke may become the latest in a proud line of March icons.

With his team making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011, the Oakland graduate student opened the game as strong as anyone could have realistically expected.

Gohlke, a 6-foot-3 guard, almost single-handedly willed his team to a 38-35 halftime lead against No. 3 seed Kentucky at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh Thursday night, coming off the bench to score a game-high 21 points while making seven of his 13 3-pointers. The seven 3s are the most by any player in an NCAA Tournament game against Kentucky — and it only took him 20 minutes to accomplish that feat.

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“He better hit seven more if we’re going to win,” Oakland coach Greg Kampe told CBS’ Evan Washburn during a halftime interview.

Whether or not he does that, Gohlke turned in one of the most impressive opening spurts in recent tournament history while helping his team put Kentucky, one of college basketball’s most storied programs and a 7.5-point favorite in the matchup, squarely on its heels.

Here’s everything you need to know about Gohlke:

Who is Jack Gohlke?

Gohlke is in his first season with Oakland, but his sixth college season overall.

He spent the previous five seasons, from 2018-23, at Hillsdale College, a private Christian school in Hillsdale, Michigan that competes at the Division II level.

After redshirting in 2018-19, Gohlke became an increasingly important contributor to the Chargers. In 2021-22, he helped lead Hillsdale to its first-ever NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearance. As a senior in 2022-23, he was a first-team all-conference selection who averaged a team-high 14.2 points per game, along with 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He shot 40% from 3-point range, making 98 of his 245 attempts from beyond the arc.

He transferred to Oakland for the 2023-24 season and made a noticeable impact, finishing third on the team in scoring while helping lead the Golden Grizzlies to Horizon League regular season and tournament championships.

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Jack Gohlke stats

In his first season with Oakland, Gohlke entered the 2024 NCAA Tournament averaging 12.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while starting in 15 of his team’s 34 games.

Perhaps most notably, he has shot 37% from 3 this season. Gohlke has attempted 327 3s this season, the second-most of any Division I player.

Jack Gohlke recruiting rank

Gohlke did not have a 247Sports recruiting profile coming out of high school. He committed to Hillsdale in October 2017.

Jack Gohlke high school

Gohlke attended Pewaukee High School in his hometown of Pewaukee, Wisconsin. Gohlke isn’t the only standout athlete from Pewaukee. NFL superstars J.J. Watt and T.J. Watt were also born and raised there.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Who is Jack Gohlke? Oakland guard made 7 first-half 3s vs Kentucky