A night immersed in March Madness
PITTSBURGH – They call it March Madness for a reason and a night at PPG Paints Arena showed why.
Meet Jack Gohlke and DJ Burns Jr. everyone.
No offense to Kiss’s Paul Stanley, but those two were rock stars on this night.
Pittsburgh welcomed the NCAA men’s basketball tournament to town for the second time in three years with four first-round games split into two sessions on Thursday, March 21, and if you’re one who roots for the underdog then the night games were made for you.
The first match-up of the late doubleheader was supposed to be a happy homecoming for Kentucky coach John Calipari, who hails from Moon Township. A team named Oakland (no, not the Oakland located in Pittsburgh, and, no, not that one in the state of California either, this Oakland is situated in Michigan) and that player named Gohlke turned that dream scenario into a complete nightmare for the Wildcats and their coach.
Gohlke, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, came off the bench to rain in 10 3-pointers as the 14th-seeded Golden Grizzlies, 13.5-point underdog, stunned No. 3 Kentucky, 80-76.
Gohlke shooting from long range – he came into the game hitting at 37.8% – shouldn’t have been a surprise to the Wildcats. He had taken 335 shots this season and all but eight of those were from beyond the arc and was second in the country at 3.7 3-pointers made per game.
Against a Kentucky team known for its 3-point shooting, it was Gohlke who drained seven treys in the first half which ended with Oakland ahead 38-35.
It wasn’t only that Gohlke was making those long bombs, it was how he was doing it that had the crowd cheering every time he launched the ball. Many were off-balance attempts of the catch-and-shoot variety. Several looked completely forced yet found nothing but the bottom of the net, with the exception of one banked-in try.
Gohlke shot 50% for the game, hitting half of his 20 attempts, all 3-pointers, in scoring a career-high and game-high 32 points. His other two points came while he was fouled attempting a 3-pointer and made two of the three free throws.
Despite the local connection in Calipari, the crowd gravitated to Gohlke and the Grizzlies as the game wore on, putting just that much more pressure on the Wildcats while lifting the underdogs.
Gohlke wasn’t the only one who made big 3-pointers for Oakland.
After Kentucky took its lone lead of the second half, 45-43, on an Antonio Reeves layup, the Grizzlies’ Trey Townsend – who finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot in a fantastic all-around performance – made a trey that put his team ahead to stay.
The Wildcats whittled the gap down to 75-74 on a 3-pointer by Rob Dillingham with just over a minute left but DQ Cole delivered the dagger for Oakland with a corner 3-pointer with 37 seconds left to put his team up by four.
The finale of the four-game slate also produced an upset, although not on the level of Grizzlies’ stunner, as 11th-seeded North Carolina State pulled away from No. 6 Texas Tech, a 5.5-point favorite, for a surprisingly easy 80-67 victory.
Just like Oakland, the Wolfpack had a player come off the bench to score a career high in points to spur his team on. Ben Middlebrooks made six of eight shots from the field and nine of 10 free throws in scoring a game-high 21 points.
NC State also got strong outings from forward Mohaned Diarra, who made six of nine shots and put up 17 points and 12 rebounds, and guard DJ Horne, who contributed 16 points, six boards and five assists.
The fan favorite was Burns, however.
The bulky 6-9, 275-pound forward made seven of 11 shots, all in the paint, in scoring 16 points and displayed some quick spins and moves along with his power and hook shot that were eye-opening and obviously entertaining to the crowd.
Every time Burns touched the ball, fans roared with glee. Even the two charge fouls he was whistled for that sent Texas Tech players sprawling to the floor were amusing.
Gohlke and Burns were on display together on Saturday night in a second-round matchup. Gohlke hit six more 3-pointers in scoring 22 points but the Grizzlies came up short, 79-73 in overtime, to the Wolfpack who were led by Burns with 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting, 11 rebounds and four assists.
Who knows what the rest of the tournament has in store. When you’re immersed in March Madness, you never know what you might see.