Oakland pulls off stunning upset of Kentucky basketball in first round March Madness
PITTSBURGH — Lightning struck Kentucky twice.
For the second time in three years, UK and coach John Calipari exited the NCAA Tournament in the first round — to a double-digit seed. Oakland, the 14-seed in the South Region, stunned Kentucky, engineering an 80-76 upset at PPG Paints Arena.
The Wildcats (23-10) trailed the Golden Grizzlies (24-11) by three points at the break, 38-35. And it didn't get any better after halftime, as Oakland outscored Kentucky by a point, 42-41.
Oakland now awaits the winner of Texas Tech/N.C. State, which took the floor following the Golden Grizzlies' four-point win.
Kentucky, on the other hand, enters an offseason filled with questions after another shocking first-round loss.
Another first-round defeat to double-digit seed for Kentucky
Before the 2022 NCAA Tournament, Kentucky had lost only once to a double-digit seed: Middle Tennessee was an 11-seed in 1982.
Forty years went by before UK fell again to a double-digit-seeded foe: 15-seed Saint Peter's sent 2-seed Kentucky packing in the first round, 85-79, in Indianapolis.
Now, Oakland joins Saint Peter's to make an exclusive pair of Cinderellas that upended highly regarded Kentucky clubs.
Record-setting performance by Oakland's Jack Gohlke
Prior to Thursday, the most 3-pointers an opposing player ever had made against Kentucky in an NCAA Tournament game was six, accomplished by eight players.
Oakland's Jack Gohlke eclipsed that figure.
In the first half.
Gohlke hit seven of his 13 attempts from distance in the opening 20 minutes. He added three more triples after intermission — becoming only the fifth player in NCAA Tournament history with 10 or more made 3s in a game — to finish with a game-high 32 points.
Bounce-back NCAA outing by Antonio Reeves in college finale
The last time Kentucky senior Antonio Reeves appeared in March Madness, it was one of the worst games of his career. He went 1 of 15 from the field — failing to make a field goal until less than 10 seconds remained — in a 75-69 loss to Kansas State in the second round of last year's tournament.
In Thursday's loss, he led the Wildcats with 27 points (on 11-of-18 shooting) and also grabbed three rebounds in what ultimately was the final game as a collegian.
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 vs Oakland: Jack Gohlke carries Golden Grizzlies over Cats
