By Bert Leeson
ROCHESTER, Mich. – The No. 14 Golden Grizzlies men’s basketball team will look to grab its first-ever Round of 64 win in the NCAA Tournament as it’s set to face No. 3 Kentucky at the PPG Paints Arena, live on CBS with tip-off set for 7:10 p.m. ET.
The Golden Grizzlies (23-11, 15-5 HL) won its first-ever Horizon League Tournament title against Milwaukee, 83-76, for its fourth bid into the NCAA Tournament (2005, 2010 and 2011). The Golden Grizzlies were last a 14-seed during its run in 2010 as it fell in the first round against Pittsburgh. The Golden Grizzlies made its tournament debut as a 16-seed at the 2005 tournament, while its highest-seed coming in 2011 as a 13-seed.
In its Horizon League Championship game March 12, Oakland held on to its halftime lead in the beginning of the second but the Milwaukee Panthers came clawing back. Both teams kept it close as Trey Townsend took control of the game and scored 18-straight points for the Golden Grizzlies in 6:24 time to give Oakland a four-point lead with 2:00 minutes to play. Oakland held its lead as Townsend iced the game with a pair of free throws, followed by a block on the Panthers last shot attempt to take the title game, 83-76.
Townsend led the Golden Grizzlies in its Horizon League Championship game with 38 points and 11 rebounds in 40 minutes of play. He joined a short list of him and Kevin Durant (Texas, 2007) to score 35+ points, 10+ rebounds and play 40+ minutes in a conference championship game in the last 25 years. With five assists, he’s the only player in the last 15 years to record at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a regulation conference tournament game.
ALL-LEAGUE
Trey Townsend, Jack Gohlke and Blake Lampman all earned All-League honors as Townsend became the fourth Oakland player to earn Horizon League Player of the Year since joining the Horizon League. He joins the list of Jamal Cain, Kendrick Nunn and Kay Felder, all of which have played in the NBA, as Cain last won in 2022. Townsend also earned a First Team All-League nod. Gohlke became the second Golden Grizzly to earn Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year as Max Hooper earned the award in 2016, the same year Felder earned Player of the Year. To round it out, Lampman was named to the second team for the first time of his career.
RECORD WATCH
Jack Gohlke ranks sixth in the Golden Grizzlies single season record book for most three-point field goals made with 121, as Travis Bader (2013-14) leads with 147. Travis Bader (2011-12) is ahead of him in fifth with 124. He also sits fifth in three-point field goals per game with 3.56 and third in three-point field goal attempts with 327, as Kendrick Nunn (2017-18) is ahead of him with 340.
Graduate student Blake Lampman set the all-time school record against Detroit Mercy on March 2 for most games played in a Golden Grizzlies uniform with 138 and currently has 141. He’s also in the fifth spot career wise in three-point field goals made with 276, as Brad Buddenborg (1998-02) is ahead in fourth with 286, while Lampman is third in attempts with 831, as Erik Kangas (2005-09) is ahead with 861 attempts.
Trey Townsend has played and started in 127 games to date, which puts him second in the Oakland record book for most games started and is fourth overall in the books in minutes played with 4,416. In games started, Townsend is behind Johnathon Jones (2006-10), while Corey Petros (2011-15) is third in minutes played with 4516. The senior also finds himself seventh overall in offensive rebounds (279, Jalen Hayes (2013-18) is sixth with 280), fourth in defensive rebounds (585, Corey Petros (2011-15) in third with 664) and seventh in total rebounds (864, Ronald Brown (1969-73) in sixth with 866). He’s also t-eighth in career double-doubles with 19 alongside John Henderson (1985-89), as Tom Eller (1990-94) is ahead with 20.
1K Club
The Golden Grizzlies have four players with 1000 career NCAA points (Townsend – 1653, Gohlke – 1127, Watts – 1017, Lampman – 1003) which is t-9th in the NCAA for most active 1000 point scorers on the same team as St. John’s (NY) leads with six. Watts and Lampman recorded their 1000th career-point in the same game.
DQ Cole amassed 1145 points in his career prior to joining the Golden Grizzlies, with Schoolcraft Community College and Henry Ford College, that both compete in the National Junior College Athletic Association level. Although NJCAA points don’t count towards NCAA career point totals, Cole is nearing the 1500-point club as he currently sits with 1442.
OF NOTE
– The Golden Grizzlies had the 25th hardest non-conference schedule in Division I basketball. Its non-conference opponents included four that earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament and include: No. 3 Illinois, No. 7 Dayton, No. 9 Michigan State and No. 10 Drake.
– Trey Townsend, who earned First Team All-League, became the 18th Golden Grizzly in-a-row to receive first team honors as only Gonzaga has a longer streak.
– Trey Townsend is the son of Skip Townsend who played basketball for Oakland University. Skip also played under Greg Kampe as Trey grew up going to Oakland basketball games, camps, etc.
– Oakland was one of 11 (out of 32) number one 1 seeds to win its conference tournament and defeated the No. 8, No. 7 and No. 6 seeds which all had over 20 wins, for the first time at the Mid-Major level that a one-seed beat an eight, seven and six-seed with 20+ wins en route to a conference championship.
– Head coach Greg Kampe is the fifth DI Men’s Basketball head coach to coach 40 seasons at one school and lead the team to the NCAA Tournament 4 times. He joins the list of: Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Ray Meyer (DePaul) and Adolph Rupp (Kentucky).
– Jack Gohlke ranks second in the NCAA in both total three-point field goals made (121) and three-point field goal attempts (327) this season and is third in three-pointers per game with 3.56. With 335 total shots from the field, all but eight have come from beyond the arc.
– Trey Townsend was named NABC First-Team All-District to become the 13 All-District selection since 2009, as head coach Greg Kampe was named NABC District 12 Coach of the Year.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
The Golden Grizzlies face off against the University of Kentucky Wildcats (23-9, 13-5 SEC) for the first time in program history as the Wildcats make its record 61st appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats, coached by John Calipari, have made the tournament the last three years and 14 times under Calipari’s 15-year tenure. Among those 15 include: Two Round of 32 finishes, one Sweet 16 finish, three Elite Eight finishes, two Final Four finishes and one national championship (2012). Besides the 2011-12 season, Calipari coached the Wildcats to a near perfect 38-1 record before it fell in the Final Four in 2015.
To date, the Wildcats have had 112 total players selected in the NBA Draft, with 48 first-round picks and three No. 1 overall. Kentucky has won eight NCAA titles for second most in the NCAA, three behind UCLA. In recent years, however, the Wildcats haven’t made it to the second weekend as it fell as the No. 2 seed in 2022 to Saint Peter’s, 85-79, while losing to No. 3 seed Kansas State, 75-69, as a No. 6 seed in the Round of 32 last season.
This season, the Wildcats fell in the quarterfinal round of the 2024 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, 97-87, after it rattled off five-straight, including an 85-81 win over current No. 2 seed Tennessee. Six of the team’s nine losses this season have come from the hands of NCAA Tournament teams.
The Wildcats are led by NABC All-District honoree Antonio Reeves who tallies 20.0 points per game and shoots at a .508 clip from the floor with 79 makes from range for a team high. Tre Mitchell leads Kentucky with 7.0 rebounds per game as Reeves is close behind with 4.2.
Kentucky ranks second in the NCAA in scoring offense with 89.4 points per game, but 334 (out of 351) in scoring defense, giving up 79.7 points per game. The team also ranks third overall in blocks per game with 6.3, first in three-point percentage, hitting at a .419 clip, and fifth in field goal percentage with a .497 clip. The team narrowly leads off the glass as it brings down 37.6 rebounds per game compared to its opponents 36.7.
Tip-off from the PPG Paints Arena is slated for 7:10 PM ET Thursday, March. 21. Thursday’s game will be live on CBS and can be heard via the Varsity app, 97.1HD-3/1270am with Neal Ruhl on the call.
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COURTESY OAKLAND ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
Making its record 61st appearance in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, Kentucky begins play in the 2024 version of March Madness on Thursday night against Oakland in Pittsburgh (7:10 ET, CBS).
Kentucky (23-9) has a number of connections to the Steel City, starting with head coach John Calipari, who grew up in nearby Moon Township. On Wednesday, Calipari talked about being raised in the Pittsburgh area.
“Let me say this about Pittsburgh – when I grew up it was a blue-collar town, but it’s never changed the roots of what Pittsburgh’s about,” Calipari said. “Where I grew up, my high school teammates are still my friends. We were all brought up the same way. Our fathers were laborers. Our mothers raised us. You were taught that there’s nothing in this world that’s going to be given to you. You’re going to have to go take what you want and if you don’t work, you will not eat. If you want to be better than somebody, you better work. That’s Pittsburgh. Special place.”
A pair of current Wildcats hail from Pittsburgh as well. Both Tre Mitchell and Adou Thiero call Pittsburgh home and both are looking forward to the opportunity to play in their home city on Thursday night.
“It means the world to be back home in my final year of college basketball,” Mitchell said. “To be able to have people around me come full circle. It’s an unbelievable blessing from above. I’ve had my ups and downs and I’ve been through adversity. For it to come full circle like this is proof that this is the journey I was supposed to be on.”
Thiero is also excited to be back in Pittsburgh.
“I’m super excited to play at home,” Thiero said. “I’ve got people who haven’t seen me play since I was a little kid telling me that they’re coming to the game. Super happy to be home and to be playing here.”
Mitchell also expects to have a large contingent of fans in attendance on Thursday.
“Family alone, I would say if they are breathing and they are in Pennsylvania, they are going to be here,” Mitchell said. “The Italian side (of his family) is very loud, I’m sure I’ll be able to hear their voices. On top of that, I think any person that I’ve come into contact with in AAU or high school or whatever it may be, they’ve all told me they’re going to be here.”
Calipari, Mitchell and Thiero are hoping that Thursday night’s game against Oakland proves to be a happy homecoming for all of them.
NCAA Tournament Success under Calipari
UK ranks second in the nation in all-time NCAA Tournament
victories with 130, but no team has more wins in the tournament
than the Wildcats since 2010, when John Calipari first led the Wildcats into the Big Dance:
32 – Kentucky, Kansas
31 – Duke
30 – Gonzaga
29 – North Carolina
24 – Michigan, Michigan State
23 – Villanova
20 – Syracuse, Wisconsin
19 – Baylor, Florida
18 – UConn
17 – UCLA
16 – Arizona, Butler, Louisville
Since Calipari took over the reins at UK, no team has more:
• NCAA Tournament wins (32)
• Final Four appearances (four)
• Elite Eight appearances (seven)
• Sweet 16 appearances (eight)
Kentucky is 32-10 (76.2%) in NCAA Tournament games under the direction of Calipari, ahead of Adolph Rupp (30-18) for most wins by a Kentucky coach. Overall, Calipari is 57-21 (73.1%) as a head coach in NCAA Tournament games.
Calipari, with 57 career NCAA Tournament wins, leads all active head coaches. Bill Self (56) and Tom Izzo (55) are the only other active coaches with at least 50 wins in NCAA Tournament action.
Battle-Tested Cats Approach Postseason
Kentucky once again has taken on a schedule that will prepare it well for postseason competition. The Wildcats have played a total of 10 games against eight teams either ranked or receiving votes in the March 11 Associated Press Top 25 poll.
• In conference play, the Cats squared off with No. 5 Tennessee (2x), No. 12 Auburn, No. 15 South Carolina and No. 19 Alabama while facing Florida, a team receiving votes, twice. In nonconference action, Kentucky played No. 4 North Carolina, No. 16 Kansas and No. 17 Gonzaga
• In addition, Kentucky has played 11 games against eight opponents currently ranked in the top 30 of the KenPom rankings
• Of the top 25 of the most recent NET rankings, UK has faced seven opponents a total of nine times
• The Wildcats have faced nine foes a total of 13 times among the NET’s top 50
COURTESY KENTUCKY ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
