LEXINGTON — Kentucky basketball will take on a two-time conference champion in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

UK, the No. 3 seed in the South Region, opens against No. 14 seed Oakland, which won the Horizon League regular-season title with a 15-5 record. The Golden Grizzlies held serve as top seed in the conference tournament, capturing the crown 83-76 over Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

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The Wildcats and Golden Grizzlies square off Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. The winner plays Saturday against the winner of No. 6 seed Texas Tech and No. 11 seed N.C. State, who take the floor after the Wildcats and Golden Grizzlies.

Here's what to know about Kentucky's first-round matchup against Oakland:

Oakland has longest-tenured active coach in Division I

While Greg Kampe isn't a household name like Gonzaga's Mark Few or Michigan State's Tom Izzo, he has them beat in one way: No active coach in Division I men's basketball has led his program longer.

Kampe's first season with the Golden Grizzlies was 1984 and he's in his fourth decade with the school located in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan. Since then, he's won 698 games, including 436 at the Division I level.

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Oakland a fairly new face in NCAA Tournament

This season is only the fourth time Oakland has earned a bid to the Division I NCAA Tournament. The Golden Grizzlies started as a Division II program in 1967, then transitioned to Division I in 1997.

Oakland's last appearance in the NCAA Tournament was 2011, the second of back-to-back berths, as it also made the Big Dance in 2010. The Golden Grizzlies' other March Madness bid was 2005.

Oakland's lone NCAA Tournament win came in its first-ever game: It beat Alabama A&M in an opening-round game in Dayton, Ohio, in 2005.

Oakland has one of country's most willing 3-point shooters

Golden Grizzlies senior guard Jack Gohlke isn't afraid to let it fly from distance. He enters the NCAA Tournament having attempted 327 3-pointers this season; that ranks second in the nation, trailing only Hofstra guard Tyler Thomas (337 attempts).

But Gohlke isn't simply a volume shooter — he's also efficient. He knocked down 37% (121 of 327) of his 3-point attempts, the second-best percentage in the Horizon League.

Perhaps the most mind-boggling Gohlke stat: Only eight of his 335 field goal attempts this season have been inside the 3-point arc.

Kentucky vs Oakland prediction: March Madness Round of 64

Kentucky 93, Oakland 72: The Golden Grizzlies faced three NCAA Tournament teams this season in Big Ten bullies Illinois and Michigan State along with Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champion Drake. They lost all three.

Oakland shares a common foe with the Wildcats: Marshall. Kentucky rolled past Marshall in a record-setting performance in November, while Oakland eked past the Thundering Herd by seven points. UK simply has too much offensive firepower for Oakland to go point for point, as John Calipari's club cruises into the second round.

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Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball-Oakland prediction: 2024 NCAA Tournament Round 1