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Oakland’s Jack Gohlke Is March Madness’ Biggest Winner
NC State Defeated Oakland in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament
Oakland’s Magical Run Ends Early
Not many people knew about the Oakland Golden Grizzlies prior to March Madness. In fact, many were surprised that the school is in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and not Oakland, California.
The team shocked the world in the First Round of the NCAAB Tournament when they beat the No. 3 seed Kentucky and it looked like they could be ready to go on a bit of a run. However, they are done playing NCAAB games this season.
Oakland Falls to NC State
Things were set up nicely for Oakland. In the Second Round, the team faced No. 11 seed NC State after they upset Texas Tech. Unfortunately for Oakland, they couldn’t keep the run going and lost to the Wolfpack 79-73.
NC STATE SILENCES OAKLAND’S MARCH RUN IN OT TO ADVANCE TO THE SWEET 16 🤫 pic.twitter.com/lc87U6Lvug
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 24, 2024
Though the run is over, there were some impressive stats. Perhaps the biggest individual winner in the entire one was guard Jack Gohlke. Jack Gohlke’s stats were impressive against Kentucky as he made 10 3-pointers. There were no college basketball rumors about him before but he may get looked at by some NBA teams. There’s value in players who stand on the perimeter and hit 3-pointers all game.
Oakland coach Greg Kampe said an NCAA Tournament win could “change his players’ lives.”
Jack Gohlke’s run is over, but he:
• Made 3-pt history
• Signed multiple NIL deals
• Got to launch his own merch
• Went from 500 IG followers to 50,000+pic.twitter.com/FIfFEkBlOZ— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 24, 2024
Oakland was a fun story for college basketball news but perhaps NC State will be the new darling of the tournament. Oakland had the makings of being the sleeper team that everybody rooted for and they did come close against NC State.
While Gohlke was disappointed with the result, he was very proud of what his teammates were able to accomplish.
“In time, we’ll soak it all in and remember the fun of it,” Gohlke said. “But I don’t think it’s magic. I really don’t. I would just say it’s the result of a lot of hard work from all my teammates, all my coaches, and myself.”
“The thing I wanted the most really was to see everyone at practice on Monday”
All the feels from Jack Gohlke ❤️ pic.twitter.com/h5OlmOHb9c
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 24, 2024
Even just beating a team like Kentucky is a win for a program like Oakland so there’s nothing for the team to be upset about.
