NC State knocks Oakland out of the NCAA Tournament, advances to Sweet 16

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament Second Round-NC State vs Oakland — Mar 23, 2024; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Oakland Golden Grizzlies guard Jack Gohlke (3) shoots the ball against North Carolina State Wolfpack guard Jayden Taylor (1) and guard DJ Horne (0) as North Carolina State Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts looks on during the first half in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Jack Gohlke will not be the Cinderella he swore Oakland wouldn’t be entering the NCAA Tournament — “I think if we win a couple of games, it’s not going to be surprising to us,” he said prior to his team’s matchup vs. Kentucky in the opening round.

He got the first one, but couldn’t pull off the second to secure a spot in the Sweet 16. Instead, it will be Joel Justus and the NC State Wolfpack taking the spot that could (and should) have been filled by the Wildcats in Dallas.

The Golden Grizzlies got close, pushing it to overtime before falling by a final score of 79-73. Star forward Trey Townsend led the way with 30 points and 13 rebounds while Gohlke made history for the most 3-pointers made in the first weekend of March Madness with 16 total — 10 against the Wildcats, six against the Wolfpack. He scored 22 overall to go with eight rebounds, 6-17 shooting overall.

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On the other side, DJ Burns led NC State with 24 points and 11 rebounds while four others finished in double figures to advance. The Wolfpack shot 45.3% from the field and 34.6% from three compared to 36.8% overall and 34.3% from deep for the Golden Grizzlies.

NC State will take on the winner of No. 2 seed Marquette vs. No. 10 seed Colorado, that matchup taking place on Sunday at 12:10 p.m. ET.

As for John Calipari and the Wildcats, they’ll be watching the second weekend from home. Again.