Before Oakland's Jack Gohlke torched Kentucky, Ohio State got season's first shot
Before Jack Gohlke became the latest to cement his name in Cinderella lore, Ohio State got a first-hand look at the Oakland sharpshooter.
The Buckeyes opened the 2023-24 season with a win that, in the moment, felt a little too close for comfort. On Nov. 6, Ohio State trailed for 27:49 in front of 9,244 fans at Value City Arena before fending off the upset challenge from Oakland in a 79-73 win.
Thursday night, those same Golden Grizzlies pulled off the biggest NCAA Tournament upset of the day. Powered by the perimeter shooting provided by Gohlke, No. 14 seed Oakland knocked off No. 3 seed Kentucky 80-76 inside PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Back home in Columbus, Ohio State coach Jake Diebler was poring over Virginia Tech film when he started to get a few texts about Gohlke’s first half against the Wildcats.
“He hits (seven) 3s in the first half and you felt like, maybe you’d better check in on this. Could see some history,” Diebler said Friday.
By the end, that’s what happened. Gohlke went 10 for 20 from 3, finishing with 32 points to power the Golden Grizzlies to victory. His 10 made 3s tied him for the second-most in single-game NCAA Tournament history, just one off the record, and he also had 10 in a 48-point win against IUPUI on Feb. 17.
Against Ohio State, Gohlke was 6 for 18 from deep, scoring a team-high 18 points in the loss. The Buckeyes will host Virginia Tech in the NIT on Saturday night. Oakland will play No. 11 seed N.C. State at almost the same time.
“We got to see firsthand how talented of a shooter he is,” Diebler said. “(Coach) Greg (Kampe), he runs some great actions for him. We knew they were a really good team. We knew that back in November.”
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Although he finished 6 for 18 from 3 against the Buckeyes, Gohlke missed his final four attempts, all in the final two minutes as Ohio State held on.
“I felt like I kept running around the court,” Thornton said after the win against Oakland. “I felt like I touched every part of the court chasing after No. 3 (Gohlke) and No. 11 (Blake Lampman). Contested 3s fading away, I feel like those are contested shots you have to live with. A contested 3 that’s fading away? Those are shots you’ve got to live with.”
Sometimes, as Kentucky found out, those are the shots you die with, too.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Before Oakland's Jack Gohlke beat Kentucky, Ohio State got first shot
