The Oakland basketball team in possession of the biggest upset of the NCAA Tournament right now as they knocked off #3 seed Kentucky basketball on Thursday. The game came down to the wire, but the Grizzlies outlasted the Wildcats to earn the big 80-76 win. A big reason why Oakland got the win was the play of Jack Gohlke. He scored 32 points and was 10-20 from three on the game.
Jack Gohlke and the Oakland basketball team are now the darlings of March Madness after their huge win. You wouldn't think that a team from Horizon League would come into the tournament as a battle-tested team, but Gohlke credits their close games this season for getting them ready for the moment. He appeared on the Pat McAfee Show on Friday and discussed why his team was able to pull off the upset.
“We're just a gritty team,” Jack Gohlke said on the show. “We've played a ton of close games this year, we played in hostile environments everywhere. And we just know that we have trust in each other. We believe in each other to make those big plays. We've done it all year, so why not do it in the next game? So, I think I think that's just what it boils down to is just trust in your teammates and, you know, they're gonna go out there and make plays for you because it's gonna be someone new every night.”
As for Jack Gohlke and his personal success, it was abundantly clear on Thursday that he oozes confidence. He wanted to ball in his hands and he wanted to make big shots for Oakland basketball. He made big shots all night long, and his confidence is a big reason why the Grizzlies are still playing.
“I have the utmost confidence in myself so I believe that I can keep getting better and I can play at any level,” Gohlke said. “But I also know, I mean, the type of athletes that those guys are in the NBA and the things that they bring to the table, so yeah, I'm just gonna keep trying to get better and enjoy this run as it lasts but once it's over, I'm gonna try to make the NBA, and if something could happen that will be awesome but I know I could have a long pro career overseas as well.”
Jack Gohlke and Oakland aren't done yet
Now, Oakland is heading to the round of 32 to take on #11 seed NC State. The Wolfpack pulled off an upset over #6 seed Texas Tech, so we will have a double digit seed in the Sweet 16. Gohlke and the Grizzlies are only focused on getting there, not celebrating their big win over Kentucky.
“I mean we celebrate, but right now we're just trying to soak in this run and we're just trying to make it to Dallas for the Sweet 16,” Gohlke said. “That's the biggest thing. And once that's over, then we'll go and we'll celebrate and we'll enjoy all the history that we're making, but for now it's really just about, we want another week of practice with each other. We just love spending time with each other, love being around each other.”
Oakland and NC State will battle it out on Saturday night at 7:10 PM ET. The Wolfpack are currently favored by 5.5 points.
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