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The Golden Grizzlies of Oakland University pulled off the upset of day one of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday when the No. 14 seed upended third-seeded Kentucky, 79-76.
Senior guard Jack Gohlke made himself an instant March Madness legend with a 32-point performance on 10-of-20 (!!!) from 3-point range.
But there’s something everybody needs to know about Oakland University. It’s not actually in Oakland. Well, not that Oakland.
If you’re like me, you probably assumed the Golden Grizzlies were from upstate California.
But that is not the case!
Oakland University is actually in Rochester, Michigan. Which is located in Oakland County. Thus the name.
It was formerly known as Michigan State University-Oakland before becoming independent in 1970 and, according to Wikipedia (the greatest of all sources), has just over 20,000 students and an endowment of just over $20 million.
For comparison’s sake, Kentucky has an endowment of around $2.3 billion.
So, what else is there to know about Fake Oakland?
The school sponsors 16 scholastic athletic teams: baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track, and women’s volleyball.
The Golden Grizzlies men’s basketball team is making its fourth appearance in the Division I NCAA Tournament, having made prior appearances in 2005, 2010 and 2011.
Oakland won a pigtail game in the 2005 NCAA Tournament against Alabama A&M before getting routed by top-seeded North Carolina. The Tar Heels went on to win it all that very same year.
But this is the first time the program has actually advanced to the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.
As for Gohlke?
He joined the Golden Grizz this year as a transfer from Division II Hillsdale College. And the 32 points are a new career high.
Nice timing, huh?
He and his teammates will now have little time to celebrate as they’re back in action on Sunday against either sixth-seeded Texas Tech or 11th-seeded NC State.