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He Kentucky Wildcats They were defeated by the Oakland Golden Grizzlies on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by a score of 80-76.
That first half was something. Both teams got off to a slow start, but it didn’t last long. We’ll get into that later, but Oakland’s Jack Gohlke hit seven 3-pointers…in the first half! Kentucky played pretty well defensively outside of that, but the Golden Grizzlies led 38-35 at halftime.
In the second half things did not improve much. Kentucky couldn’t stop Oakland and they couldn’t score like they have all year. Once again, it was a terrible performance and a disappointment in all Bluegrass streams.
Here’s what you should know about this one.
Tre Mitchell shines
Well, that was unexpected. Tre Mitchell has given Kentucky almost nothing since he had to deal with injuries the last six weeks. He hasn’t shown signs of positive improvement since his return, but he started today’s game with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
To be fair, Mitchell kept Kentucky afloat earlier this season, but it almost seemed like the young Cats outplayed the veteran. Injuries obviously play a factor, but Kentucky found a way to win without him.
It started for one simple reason: Oakland plays zone and the midrange is open frequently. Adou Thiero is Kentucky’s best option among the four, but I understand the decision here. Thiero is better at attacking the rim, while Mitchell is better at utilizing his shooting ability. The only problem is that Mitchell hasn’t done anything consistently since his return.
Two and a half months ago, this decision is not in question, but it is questionable given the circumstances. Luckily, Mitchell played well and proved the skeptics wrong, including myself.
Reeves redeems
Antonio Reeves could have ended his Kentucky career with a 1/15 performance in a loss to the Kansas State Wildcats last season in the NCAA Tournament. He has been consistent all season, and that didn’t change in this game, as he scored 27 points on 11/18 shooting.
Reeves kept the Cats in the game when they didn’t have to keep it close. The veteran guard did absolutely everything he could to keep Kentucky’s March Madness dreams alive.
He was the only reason Kentucky had a chance, which is sad. The best scorer of the Calipari era redeemed himself, but it was all in vain.
sheppard disappears
As amazing as Reed Sheppard was this season, he didn’t show up when it mattered most.
Sheppard played passive and let Oakland completely take him out of the game. He passed up open shots, jumped on ball fakes and just didn’t look like himself.
Let’s hope Sheppard takes the same path as Reeves and gives himself a chance to redeem himself for the disappointment of March. His regular season was special, but this was a brutal way to end his Kentucky career.
Jack Gohlke goes NUCLEAR
Do I need to say anything else? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything like what this kid did in this game. Gohlke talked a lot before the game and backed it up by going 10/20 from the field, all three-pointers, and scoring a game-high 32 points…off the bench.
This boy is famous for his way of playing. Coming into this game, he had over 300 3-point attempts compared to just seven 2-point attempts. Yes, you read that right.
Well, it lived up to infamy. Gohlke only shot threes and couldn’t miss, no matter what Kentucky tried to do to stop him. He broke the NCAA tournament record for most deep balls against the Cats in a tournament game, and he did it in the first half alone with seven!
John Calipari had absolutely no response. I’m not sure if anyone could have had an answer. The performance was legendary, at the Cats’ expense.
What a sad day for BBN. This should be John Calipari’s last game as head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, but it probably won’t be.
Now, let’s vent.
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