| Advertisement |
March 22 (UPI) -- Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari said his players tired quickly because they were too anxious and cited potential changes to his recruiting style after an upset loss to Oakland in the NCAA tournament. Calipari made the comments at his postgame news conference after the No. 14 Grizzlies beat the No. 3 Wildcats 80-76 on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
Advertisement
"I thought they were anxious, and when you're anxious, you get really tired really fast," Calipari said of the Wildcats. "So we had a couple guys that started the game and were exhausted within a minute and a half, two minutes. So I think they were a little anxious."
Calipari and the Wildcats recruited what many experts regarded as the top freshman class in the country, led by Justin Edwards (20), D.J. Wagner (18), Aaron Bradshaw (19), Rob Dillingham (19) and Reed Sheppard (19). That crew teamed up with transfer Tre Mitchell (23) and Antonio Reeves (23) to lead the Wildcats to a 23-10 record.
Reeves led the Wildcats with 20.2 points per game, while Mitchell logged 10.7 points per bout. Dillingham and Sheppard led the Wildcats' freshmen with 15.2 and 12.5 points per game, respectively. Wagner (9.9) and Edwards (8.8) also helped fuel the No. 2 offense in the country, which averaged 89 points per game.
But on Thursday, Edwards (10 points) was the only freshman to reach or eclipse his season average against the Grizzlies (24-11).
Wagner went 0 for 5 and failed to score in the first-round upset. Sheppard was 1 for 5, with just three points. Bradshaw also scored just three points, while Dillingham netted 10. Reeves led the way, with 27 points for the Wildcats. Mitchell chipped in 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Sheppard and Dillingham are expected to be Top 10 picks in the 2024 NBA Draft. No Oakland players are projected to be picked in the June event.
"I'll look at other ways that we can do stuff, but, you know, there's -- this thing here, it's a different animal," Calipari said of the landscape of college basketball. "We've been able to help so many kids and win so many games and Final Fours, national titles and all this stuff, win league championships with young guys.
"It's changed on us. All of a sudden, it's gotten really old. So we're playing teams -- [and] our average age is 19. Their average age is 24 and 25. So do I change because of that? Maybe add a couple older guys to supplement."
The Wildcats, who own eight national titles, the second-most in history behind UCLA (11), only won one NCAA tournament game since 2019. They last advanced to the Final Four in 2015.
On the other side of Thursday's matchup, the Grizzlies earned their first win in history in the first round of the NCAA tournament. They were 0-3 entering Thursday night.
Senior guard Jack Gohlke, 24, was the star of the matchup, hitting 10 3-pointers en route to a game-high 32 points for the Grizzlies. Juniors Trey Townsend and D.Q. Cole chipped in 17 and 12 points, respectively.
"Obviously we come in as an underdog, by all measures, but as as player, you can't think that way," Gohlke told reporters. "You've gotta go out there and think you have the same talent level as them. I know they have draft picks and I know I'm not going to the NBA.
"But I know, on any given night, I can't go out and compete with those type of guys and I know our team can compete with those type of guys. That's why I was so confident going into it. That's why I say we aren't a Cinderella. When we play our A game, we can be the best team on the floor."
The Wildcats outshot the Grizzlies 42.6% to 41.3% overall, but made 32.1% of their 3-pointers, compared to their foes' 48.4% clip from downtown. The Grizzlies also out-rebounded the Wildcats 40-39, including 14-11 in offensive rebounds.
"There was never a doubt in my mind that this wasn't going to a game," Grizzlies coach Greg Kampe said. "I've been with this team since June and I know who they are."
The Grizzlies will now take on the No. 11 N.C. State Wolfpack in the second round. The winner will advance to the Sweet 16. The Wolfpack upset No. 6 Texas Tech 80-67 in another first-round matchup Thursday in Pittsburgh.
No. 11 Duquesne, No. 11 Oregon and No. 9 Michigan State were among the other lower seeds to advance. No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Arizona, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 2 Iowa State, No. 3 Illinois, No. 3 Creighton, No. 4 Kansas, No. 5 Gonzaga, No. 7 Dayton, No. 7 Texas and No. 7 Washington State also claimed first-round wins.
No. 8 Florida Atlantic will battle No. 9 Northwestern in the first game of Friday's first-round slate. That game will tip off at 12:15 p.m. EDT in Brooklyn and air on CBS. Top overall seed UConn, fellow No. 1s Houston and Purdue and No. 4 Duke will be among the other teams in action.
