On Thursday night, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 80-76 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. That initial portion was noteworthy. Although it didn’t continue long, both teams had a poor start. Jack Gohlke of Oakland made seven 3-pointers in the first half; we’ll talk more about it below. Aside from it, Kentucky’s defense was largely strong, although the Golden Grizzlies led 38-35 at halftime. It didn’t get any better in the second half. Oakland outran Kentucky, and they were unable to score in the manner that they had done all season. Once more, the Bluegrass flows were met with a terrible performance and disappointment.
Here are some key takeaways from this one.
Tre Mitchell excels.
That was, indeed, surprising. Since battling injuries over the past six weeks or so, the Mitchell has offered Kentucky almost nothing. Although he didn’t appear to be getting any better since his comeback, he had 14 points and 13 rebounds when the game began today. Though to be fair, earlier in the season Mitchell kept Kentucky afloat, it nearly seemed as though the younger Cats had outgrown the veteran. Although injuries had a major impact, Kentucky managed to win even without him.
The midrange is frequently open in Oakland’s zone defense, which is the only reason he began. Though I fully respect the decision made here, Adou Thiero is Kentucky’s best option at the four. Mitchell excels at making the most of his shooting abilities, while Thiero is greatest at attacking the rim. The only thing wrong is that since his comeback, Mitchell hasn’t done anything consistently. Though it’s debatable given the circumstances, this decision made 2.5 months ago isn’t regrettable. Fortunately, Mitchell performed well on the field, disproving everyone’s doubts—including myself.
Reeves redeems
With a 1/15 effort in the previous season’s NCAA Tournament defeat to the Kansas State Wildcats, Antonio Reeves may have called it quits on his career at Kentucky. He has been reliable all season, and he continued that trend in this game, scoring 27 points on 11 of 18 shots. When it wasn’t their job to keep it tight, Reeves kept the Cats in the game. The seasoned guard gave it his all to ensure that Kentucky’s March Madness hopes would not die. It’s unfortunate because, without him, Kentucky would never have had a shot. Although the Calipari era’s top scorer made a full redemption, it was all in vain.
Sheppard goes missing.
Even though Reed Sheppard has been amazing this season, he delivered when it counted most. Sheppard was entirely taken out of the game by Oakland because of his lackluster play. He was unrecognizable as he missed easy opportunities and leaped at false ball movements. Hopefully, Sheppard follows Reeves’ lead and gives himself a second chance to make up for the March setback. Although his regular season was great, this was perhaps a cruel way to conclude his tenure at Kentucky.
Jack Gohlke goes NUCLEAR
Do I need to add anything else? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a child act in this way during a game. Before the game, Gohlke made a lot of statements, and he followed them up with 10/20 shooting from the field, including all threes, and a game-high 32 points—all coming off the bench. This child’s style of play has earned him notoriety. He has made more than 300 3-pointers compared to only seven 2-pointers going into this contest. You did read correctly. He certainly lived up to the notoriety. Gohlke was limited to shooting threes, and he was unstoppable despite Kentucky’s best efforts to contain him.
With seven deep balls in the first half of the game against the Cats, he broke the NCAA Tournament record for most such balls! John Calipari did not have a single response. I doubt that anyone could have responded. At the Cats’ cost, the performance was legendary. Such a depressing day for BBN. It should be John Calipari’s final game leading the Kentucky Wildcats, but it most likely won’t be.
Blog By:- ExpertSadar
