CRAWFORD | Down goes Kentucky! Oakland threes stun Wildcats in NCAA opener, 80-76 | Sports

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WDRB) — Middle Tennessee. Gardiner-Webb. Evansville. UNC Wilmington. Saint Peters. This one was worse. This one was the worst, in terms of John Calipari’s coaching tenure at Kentucky, certainly, and perhaps in Kentucky’s long basketball history.

Add Oakland’s name to the list of historic Kentucky upsets. In an unthinkable moment, Greg Kampe’s No. 14 seed Golden Grizzlies beat Kentucky 80-76 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday night.

It’s a good thing it was in Calipari’s hometown. Maybe he can find a family member to put him up until the heat is off in Lexington. If it ever turns off. It may not.

This one is going to leave a mark. Few collections of Kentucky players were more loved than this one, and few more talented, in terms of potential NBA Draft picks.

"This one I’m really hurting for them," Calipari said. "There’s other years, you max out and lose a game. This team, I really felt, could have done so much more. And our fans were here again. I feel bad for our fans. Wish we were able to play a little bit getter. But it’s hard when I look at this, this season these guys got so much better . . . to define our season with this game, it’s our sport, it’s what we do. But I’m disappointed for them. The preparation was great. The spirit was great. We tried to keep it light. But this tournament . . . this one hit me hard, for them, because again, I thought I had a team that could do some stuff.”

This is the kind of upset win they write books about. And Kampe, in his 40th season at Oakland, has plenty of material.

He not only beat Kentucky, led the vaunted Wildcats for 32 minutes, but he called his shot before the game. He Babe Ruthed it. With a 14 seed. Against Kentucky!

"I know I said this wouldn't be the biggest win of my career, because of that Michigan thing, some of you know," Kampe said. "But when that clock hit zero, all that changed. This was the biggest."

This one would star Jack Gohlke, a transfer from NCAA Division II Hillsdale College, whose 32 points and 10 of 19 three-point shooting led an indomitable and disciplined squad whose zone defense Kentucky‘s powerful offense and roster full of NBA talent could not figure out.

Down 38-35 at the half, Kentucky managed some improved ball pressure in the second half, but it could not score against Kampe’s hybrid zone. Wildcat players looked confused all night.

Antonio Reeves finished with 27 points and Tre Mitchell added 14. No other Kentucky player was in double figures. The seniors were outstanding in their final game at Kentucky. The young players did not measure up.

"We just win close games," Kampe said. "We’ve done it all year. We lost a very close one to Ohio State and a close one to Illinois. We learned from those. And when we won a close one against Xavier, we knew we had a special team. . . . We said if we’re ahead with six minutes to go in the game, we’ll win. It's just what we do. And we did."

Gohlke’s shooting led Oakland to 14-29 shooting from three-point range. Kentucky managed just 6 of 21 from beyond the arc.

Calipari said he didn't know yet how many of his players would return. He said he enjoyed the team's new offensive style, but inexperience hampered his group.

"I’m going to meet with them in my room tonight," he said. "Our guys took this really hard. And I took it hard.”

Calipari said the college game, "changed on us. All of a sudden it’s gotten really old. Our average age is 18, and we’re playing teams whose average age is 24 or 25.”

And though Calipari has a lifetime contract and many coaching years remaining, this loss aged him, and a great many fans. And its memory will not fade quickly.