Kentucky suffers another massive NCAA Tournament upset. Oakland ends the Wildcats’ season.
Two years after the most shocking upset in Kentucky basketball history, the Wildcats suffered another unthinkable loss at the hands of an NCAA Tournament underdog.
Oakland — a 14 seed — defeated 3-seeded UK 80-76 at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday night, handing the Wildcats another first-round exit and prolonging their March Madness slump.
Kentucky was upset by 15-seeded Saint Peter’s in the first round of the 2022 tournament. The Cats haven’t advanced past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 2019, and they have just one March Madness victory over that span. The loss to Oakland will also push Kentucky’s Final Four drought to at least 10 years, the second-longest such skid in program history.
Coach John Calipari signed a 10-year contract extension in 2019, and he still has five seasons remaining on that deal.
Oakland — the Horizon League champions and a double-digit underdog against the Cats — controlled the lead of Thursday’s game for most of the night and held the advantage for the final 14:32 of the second half.
Jack Gohlke led the Golden Grizzlies with 32 points and shot 10-for-20 from 3-point range. Loyola Marymount’s Jeff Fryer holds the NCAA Tournament record for most 3-pointers in a single game with 11, achieved against Michigan in 1990.
Antonio Reeves led Kentucky with 27 points. Tre Mitchell fouled out with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Rob Dillingham had 10 points for the Wildcats.
Reed Sheppard struggled mightily in his first NCAA Tournament game. He missed his first three shots from the field and didn’t score until making a 3-pointer with 6:03 left. Sheppard finished with just three points on 1-for-5 shooting.
Oakland missed its first seven shots from the field and 14 of its first 16 attempts, but Kentucky couldn’t capitalize on those early misfires. At the end of that opening skid, the Wildcats and the Golden Grizzlies were still tied at 5-all. UK allowed seven offensive rebounds in that span, and the Cats missed four of their first five shots.
Gohlke hit back-to-back 3-pointers to break Oakland out of its early funk and ended up making a total of four 3s over a span of fewer than four minutes. The 24-year-old hit his seventh 3-pointer with 1:48 left in the first half, setting a new mark for most 3s in an NCAA Tournament against the Wildcats, doing so before the halftime buzzer. Before Thursday night, no opposing player had ever hit more than six 3-pointers against UK in a March Madness game.
Coming into the game, Gohlke led all NCAA Tournament players with 121 made 3-pointers this season. He was shooting 37.0% from deep and averaging 12.2 points per game.
Kentucky especially struggled with Oakland’s matchup zone in the first half, with star guards Dillingham and Sheppard unable to get good looks from the field. Sheppard attempted just one shot in 13 minutes before halftime. Dillingham didn’t attempt his first shot — a long, good 3-pointer — until only 3:11 remained on the first-half clock. He missed two 3-pointers in the final 84 seconds before halftime.
Oakland took a 38-35 lead into the break and led for 10:04 of the first half. Kentucky led for only 6:54 before halftime. The Cats led for only 46 seconds after halftime.
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