The nickname of the NCAA basketball Tournament rang true again. The 14th-seeded Oakland Golden Grizzlies took down the third-seeded Kentucky Wildcats 80-76 in the first round of the tournament to prove that madness is alive again in March.
Oakland University, a mid-major school in Rochester, Michigan, is playing in its fourth-ever NCAA Tournament. The Golden Grizzlies won the Horizon League Championship to earn a bid to March Madness, and they seized every bit of the opportunity in the Round of 64.
Jack Golhke, a senior playing in his first season in Division I basketball, cemented himself into March Madness legend status against Kentucky. He became one of only four players to make 10 3-pointers in a game in the NCAA Tournament. The six-foot-three guard scurried off screens all game to create space and shoot 10 of 20 from beyond the arc.
The Golden Grizzlies needed all of Gohlke’s 32 points, a career-high, to win. The Horizon League Player of the Year and Gohlke’s teammate, Trey Townsend, added 17 points, and DQ Cole added 12 in the explosive offensive effort. The starting five for Oakland scored just half of Oakland’s points, with the other half coming from the bench; Gohlke’s 32 points and Rocket Watts’ eight totaled 40 points.
Gohlke entered the NCAA Tournament shooting extremely well. In the Horizon League Championship game, Gohlke scored 15 points on five-for-12 shooting from the 3-point range to lift Oakland over the Milwaukee Panthers. In the semifinals against the Cleveland State Vikings, Gohlke made seven of his 14 3-point shots to score a total of 21 points. Gohlke also shot two of five from the 3-point range in the first game of the Horizon League tournament.
Golhke served as the ultimate role player on Oakland’s squad. He shot 355 field goals this season, and 347 were 3-point attempts. The shooting specialist nailed his 3-pointers at an efficient 37.8% clip on the season. Gohlke spent his first four years of college playing for Division II Hillsdale College. In his final year of NCAA eligibility, Gohlke found the perfect role in head coach Greg Kampe’s offense. A SAD NEWS: THEY HAVE ANNOUNCE A NEW PLAYER TODAY…..……
