“We’re Not a Cinderella” Oakland University Stuns Kentucky in March Madness

Yesterday was the first round of the NCAA March Madness tournament, and this year two Michigan teams, Michigan State University and Oakland University, are fighting to win the National Championship. Michigan State, a 9 seed, dominated 8 seed Mississippi State for the entire game to win 69-51 (and gave us this insane dunk from Jaden Akins). However, while the Spartan's victory was great, it was the other Michigan university that pulled off an even greater feat.

Oakland Golden Grizzlies

The 14-seed Oakland Golden Grizzlies, coached by Greg Kampe, came in as the lower seed in this match but did not play like it. America was introduced to a new household name last night: Jack Gohlke, a Division 2 transfer, went into the record books after he scored ten 3-pointers, one shy of an NCAA record. He went 10/20 from beyond the arc, for a total of 32 points. John Calipari was unable to stop Gohlke. Even when he was being double-teamed, he would either make his shots or create an opening for another Golden Grizzly to score. According to ESPN, this was business as usual for Gohlke. During the regular season, he attempted 327 3s and just eight 2s.

To watch Oakland not only match Kentucky's gameplay but exceed them was such a fantastic viewing experience, that it was even put on the big screens during the Gonzaga-Mcneese game. In a post-game interview, Gohlke and Kampe talked about how special this moment was for this university, and that it was a moment they were not going to waste. As they walked away, Gohlke added this absolutely cold line to end the interview: "We're not a Cinderella".

They'll put that statement to the test tomorrow against 11-seed NC State.