PITTSBURGH — If you didn’t know much about Jack Gohlke entering March Madness, now you do.
The former Division II player that transferred into Oakland this season took PPG Paints Arena by storm with an unimaginable 32-point performance on 10 of 19 shooting behind the arc.
Headlines surrounded Kentucky men’s basketball head coach John Calipari returning back home where he would coach his Wildcats in the 2024 NCAA Tournament in Pittsburgh.
However, on the Moon Township, Pa. native’s mind was how to limit the Oakland Golden Grizzlies’ sharpshooter that had his name echoing throughout the arena during the second half.
Take a quick peak at his season stats entering March Madness: of 335 field goal attempts, 327 of them were from three. During the season, he shot 37.7 percent from outside.
Gohlke’s name will now go down in NCAA Tournament lore after his miraculous performance that propelled his 14th-seeded Golden Grizzlies to their first-ever Round of 32 after upsetting No. 3 Kentucky, 80-76.
There were plenty of accolades to go along with the astonishing performance, which includes the most 3-pointers made against the Kentucky Wildcats in the Big Dance — a team that has now played in 185 tournament games.
The 10 triples also tie him for the second-most in tournament history with Freddie Banks (UNLV in 1987), Roburt Sallie (Memphis in 2009) and Carsen Edwards (Purdue in 2019). The 3-point record sits at 11 set by Jeff Fryer (Loyola Marymount) in 1990
The Kentucky upset comes just two years after Saint Peter’s took down the Wildcats as a 15 seed.
Oakland punched its ticket to the tournament after clinching its first-ever Horizon League Championship in a game that Gohlke recorded 15 points on five triples to topple Milwaukee.
For Robert Morris fans, the name may sound familiar with Gohlke playing against the Colonials twice this year in conference play. In a matchup at Oakland, he had 19 points on four triples. During his trip to Moon Township, he was held to nine points on 3 of 9 from three.
Gohlke took home Sixth Man of the Year honors in the Horizon League as he averaged 12.8 points per game off the bench for the Golden Grizzlies.
Oakland’s trip to the Steel City comes as its fourth tournament appearance that includes a 2010 loss in the Round of 64 to Pitt, 89-66, which was the last time the Golden Grizzlies were a 14-seed.
For head coach Greg Kampe, the win comes as his first in the tournament in his 40 years of coaching.
The Golden Grizzlies now go on to face the winner of No. 6 Texas Tech and No. 11 NC State.
