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Oakland shocks college basketball world with win over Kentucky: 'March Madness at its best'

Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press
·5 min read

Cinderella's glass slipper fit the Oakland Golden Grizzlies this March.

Oakland basketball pulled off the first stunning upset of the 2024 NCAA tournament, taking down Kentucky 80-76 in the first round in Pittsburgh. Oakland advances to the round of 32 at the Division 1 level for the first time in school history, becoming just the 23rd 14-seed all-time to upset a 3-seed in March Madness.

Greg Kampe's squad led for most of the game, jumping out to an early lead thanks to a massive 21-point first half from Jack Gohlke, who hit 10 deep shots in the game, coming up just one short of tying the NCAA tournament record. Oakland took a three-point lead into halftime and led the entirety of the second half to hang on to their first win inside the March Madness bracket in school history.

Oakland now advances to the second round where they'll play the the winner of Texas Tech and N.C. State in the 6-11 seed matchup, set to tip-off after Oakland's game. On the CBS broadcast following the game, Gohlke, the hero of the night, promised another locked-in effort for Oakland in the next round, promising the Golden Grizzlies are not just a Cinderella.

But to the rest of the sports world, the Golden Grizzlies definitely qualify after slaying the winningest program in college basketball history in the first round, sending them to an early offseason. The college basketball world anointed Oakland as one of the heroes of this March for the unthinkable win they pulled off Thursday night. And Kampe, who led Oakland to the second round, got plenty of flowers for the career win in his 40th year coaching.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Fans can't get enough of Oakland's March Madness upset over Kentucky