'We're not a Cinderella': Oakland's Jack Gohlke early March Madness star as Kentucky upset

The first day of the 2024 March Madness tournament featured multiple upsets, the biggest coming in the South region where No. 14 Oakland upset No. 3 Kentucky 80-76. The Golden Grizzlies broke a 13-year NCAA tournament drought in style with their first win in the tournament in program history.

One player stood out for Oakland: graduate transfer Jack Gohlke.

The Pewaukee, Wisconsin, native lit up the box score with 32 points off the bench for Oakland. All 20 of his field goals came from three-point range, going 10-for-20 from deep and 2-of-3 from the free throw line. He nearly matched the NCAA Tournament record of 11 three-pointers set by Loyola Marymount’s Jeff Fryer in 1990.

Who is Jack Gohlke?

Gohlke built a reputation as a standout three-point shooter prior to transferring to Oakland ahead of this season. He spent five years at Hillsdale College and tied the program's record for three-pointers made in a single game with 10 against Ashland University.

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Over four seasons with the Chargers, Gohlke shot 38.2% from deep and 43.2% overall from the field. After taking over as a starter midway through the 2021-22 season, Gohlke was a key part of Hillsdale's run to the NCAA DII Elite Eight.

This year, he's hit 37.0% of his three-point shots on nearly 10 attempts per game. In 34 games played, he's only shot eight attempts from inside the arc. He earned Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year honors while averaging 12.2 points per game this season.

In one of Oakland's biggest games, he came off the bench and had the best performance of his career.

"It's something that I've worked so hard for my whole career," Gohlke said post-game. "It's a dream. This is why players work so hard to get to this stage."

Gohlke lit up the scoreboard but leading scorer Trey Townsend helped him out with 17 points and 12 rebounds. DQ Cole added 12 and eight as well.

"From the first day we got here in June, we just bonded," Gohlke said. "We said we're going to love each other, we're going to trust each other, and even today when we made a lot of stupid plays, we picked each other up every single time."

Oakland early Cinderella contender

Oakland will face the winner of the Texas Tech-NC State game later tonight.

"We're going to enjoy about 45 minutes of this and then we're going to get ready because we got the chance of a lifetime," Oakland coach Greg Kampe said post-game. "This is not the end of it. We've got more and the only we're going to win Saturday is to stay focused and take it one at a time."

"We're not a Cinderella," Gohlke added.

Golhke's performance was one of the biggest stories from Thursday's March Madness action.