Oakland guard Jack Gohlke became the fifth player in NCAA Tournament history to hit 10 3-pointers in an NCAA Tournament game on Thusday as he led the No. 14 seed Grizzlies to an 80-76 win over No. 3 seed Kentucky. Gohlke finished with a career-high 32 points in the most impressive performance of his lone season as a Division I player.
Gohlke entered ranked No. 2 nationally in 3-point attempts for the season with 327, and he had risen to No. 1 by halftime as he drilled 7 of 13 attempts from beyond the arc while the Grizzlies opened up a 38-35 lead entering the break. The 6-foot-3 guard has taken just eight 2-point attempts on the season and stayed true to form against Kentucky. All 20 of his attempts came from behind the 3-point line.
"He better hit seven more if we're going to win," Oakland coach Greg Kampe said at halftime.
Gohlke didn't quite live up to that request, but he did make three more 3-pointers after halftime to help Oakland secure its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Each one of his makes in the second half turned a one-possession game into a two-possession game.
After the Grizzlies closed it out and advanced to the second round, Gohlke made it clear he thinks Oakland has another one in the tank.
"We're not a cinderella," he told CBS Sports sideline reporter Evan Washburn to end his postgame interview.
JACK GOHLKE CAN'T STOP SCORING FROM DOWNTOWN 🔥#MarchMadness @OaklandMBB pic.twitter.com/0PqXJvE1kK
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 22, 2024
As the Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year, Gohlke has been knocking down big shots all season long, but he only made more than seven 3-pointers on two occasions. The sixth-year senior is in his first season with Oakland after spending five years at Division II Hillsdale.
Gohlke redshirted his first season at Hillsdale before playing fewer than 6 minutes per game over the following two seasons. It wasn't until his fifth season at the Division II level in 2022-23 that Gohlke finally became double-digit scorer.
After knocking down 40% of his 3-pointers on 8.2 attempts per game at Hillsdale last year, he got an opportunity with Oakland to use his final season of eligibility at the Division I level. He began the season with a 6-of-18 shooting performance from 3-point range against Ohio State before hitting hit 2 of 6 triples against Illinois and 4 of 13 treys against Xavier. There was also a 1-of-10 showing against Michigan State mixed in.
But Gohlke came up big in the Horizon League Tournament as Oakland secured its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2011. The 6-foot-3 guard hit 12 of 26 attempts in the final two games of the tournament and continued the hot shooting streak in a memorable way against the Wildcats.
NOW THE BANK IS OPEN FOR GOHLKE 💰#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/fukW1qDtW6
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 22, 2024