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Kentucky vs. Oakland, NCAA Tournament: TV/Streaming Info, Keys to the Game, and Predictions

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The Kentucky Wildcats will take on the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

One of the best events in all of sports is upon us, March Madness, and the Kentucky Wildcats will look to make it to the second weekend for the first since 2019. That said, the first opponent in their way will be the 14-seeded Oakland Golden Grizzlies from Auburn Hills, Michigan, making their first NCAA Tournament appearance in over a decade.

Two years ago, the Wildcats and Big Blue Nation learned not to overlook anybody after losing to a 15-seeded Saint Peter’s team ranked 260th in offensive efficiency. The Golden Grizzlies are entering the game with confidence.

“For me, this was the best matchup I think we could get as we were trying to figure it all out,” head coach Greg Kampe, who has been at Oakland for 40 years, said on local radio station 97.1 The Ticket.

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Ryan Kay of Busting Brackets, who has covered Oakland this season, has been kind enough to offer a brief scouting report to learn more about the Golden Grizzlies ahead of Thursday’s matchup.

Let’s take a look.

Scouting Report

Their non-conference performances this season may not seem impressive in terms of wins and losses but Oakland was competitive against good teams in non-conference play. In their season opener on the road against Ohio State, Oakland led the Buckeyes 52-47 in the second half before falling to Ohio State by only five points.

In the Golden Grizzlies’ second game of the season, they went on the road to face off against Illinois and once again led a Big Ten team in the second half. Oakland was leading Illinois in the second half 45-42 before losing the game by a final score of 64-53.

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In their fourth game of the season in the Cayman Islands Classic against eventual Missouri Vallery conference tournament Drake, Oakland was leading early in the second half once again 48-45 before falling to the Bulldogs by eight.

The point that is being made is that Oakland a mid-major program was gaining confidence early in the season but was unable to close out games and get early season wins against quality opponents away from their home court at the O’Rena.

After winning their last two games in the Cayman Islands Classic, their confidence continued to grow and their game at Xavier in which they held on to their second-half lead to get a signature win against a team from the Big East.

After that, yes Oakland lost a string of games but once they found their rotations that worked best and were fully healthy, they went on a run winning nine of their next ten games. Then after a road loss at Northern Kentucky, they won eight of their last nine games heading into the NCAA tournament.

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Why Oakland is a potential Cinderella team is their ability to catch teams off guard with their 1-3-1 zone defense, their ability to make threes, and a motivated, experienced head coach who has led his team to 17 wins since New Year’s Eve.

The 1-3-1 defense the Golden Grizzlies deploy is not very unique but not a defense a ton of teams have faced and endured this season. Oakland’s defense doesn’t shut opposing teams’ offenses down but it keeps their key players primarily out of foul trouble, allows them to use more of their energy on offense, and has kept teams from scoring more than 76 points in 19 games this season.

Oakland can make three-pointers as they made 24 threes in the Horizon League tournament. Jack Gohlke is the Golden Grizzlies’ main three-point specialist shooting 37% from beyond the arc but Blake Lampman is shooting 36.9% and DQ Cole at 35.2%. Even Horizon League player of the year Trey Townsend shoots it at 34.6% from three-point land. Many Golden Grizzlies can shoot from beyond the arc but they are not dependent on their three-point shooting like how some other teams are.

Finally, Oakland’s long-tenure coach has defeated Power Five teams in the past. As already mentioned, in their win against Oklahoma State, Kampe and his Golden Grizzlies also have wins since 2010 against Clemson, Georgia, Washington, Houston, and Tennessee (twice). Kampe has figured out how to utilize the transfer portal as well as developing players as freshmen to seniors like Townsend, Lampman, and Chris Conway.

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Players to Watch

F Trey Townsend 6-6, 228 lbs

  • 16.9 PPG (7th in Horizon)
  • 7.8 RPG (4th in Horizon)
  • 3.1 APG
  • Horizon League Player of the Year

G Blake Lampman 6-3, 184 lbs

  • 13.2 PPG
  • 3.0 APG
  • Horizon League Second Team Selection

G Jack Gohlke 6-3, 215 lbs

  • 12.2 PPG
  • 37% 3P
  • 121 3PM (2nd in NCAA)
  • 327 of 335 shots have been three-point attempts

Kentucky Wildcats Basketball vs. Oakland Golden Grizzlies

Men's Basketball

Milan Momcilovic and Malachi Moreno Earn Conference Preseason Honors

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Photo via Chet White | UK Athletics

On Monday, Oct. 12, Kentucky’s Milan Momcilovic and Malachi Moreno both earned All-SEC preseason honors, with the Iowa State transfer selected to the Preseason All-SEC Second Team and the returning sophomore selected to the Preseason All-SEC Third Team.

Momcilovic is entering his senior season with the Wildcats, looking to follow up his junior campaign after reigning as the undisputed best shooter in college basketball. He averaged 16.9 points per game last year, with his shooting splits reading 50.6/48.7/87.8.

Leading the Cyclones to a No. 2 seed and being selected to All-Big 12 Second Team, it’s safe to say that this isn’t the first time that Momcilovic has been left off of the top list, making the Kentucky superstar hungry to prove the haters wrong on a much larger stage.

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Moreno is returning for his sophomore season after earning All-SEC Freshman Team honors last year, looking to show the Big Blue Nation everything he learned throughout the draft process and that he has changed this summer.

The Kentucky native was thrown into the fire, earning 30 unexpected starts for the Wildcats. He developed as the season went on, ending the 2025-26 campaign averaging 7.8 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game.

With both Momcilovic and Moreno as staple players on this year’s roster, the SEC has slated Mark Pope’s team to finish seventh in the conference this season, finishing behind Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Vanderbilt.

The full lists of the All-SEC Teams can be found below:

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First Team

  • Rueben Chinyelu (Florida)
  • Juke Harris (Tennessee)
  • Thomas Haugh (Florida)
  • Josh Hubbard (Mississippi State)
  • Tyler Tanner (Vanderbilt)

Second Team

  • Amari Allen (Alabama)
  • Alex Condon (Florida)
  • Milan Momcilovic (Kentucky)
  • Jordan Smith Jr. (Arkansas)
  • Matas Vokietaitis (Texas)

Third Team

  • PJ Haggerty (Texas A&M)
  • Malachi Moreno (Kentucky)
  • Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn)
  • David Punch (Texas)
  • Billy Richmond III (Arkansas)

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Men's Basketball

Otega Oweh Shows Flashes in First NBA Preseason Appearances

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Photo via Getty Images

Former Kentucky standout Otega Oweh took another step in his basketball career on Tuesday night, making his NBA preseason debut with the Oklahoma City Thunder and taking on the New Orleans Pelicans.

Oweh came off of the bench and played 28 minutes, finishing with six points, six rebounds, two steals, one block and an assist. The former Wildcat struggled offensively, shooting only 3-of-9 from the field and missing all four of his free throw attempts.

Despite the shooting struggles, Oweh showed flashes of his defensive ability and physicality that made him a fan favorite during his two seasons in Lexington.

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The Pelicans escaped with a 116-110 win, leaving the Thunder with a 0-1 record. The next night wouldn’t draw a different result, with Oweh’s team losing by two and only playing the beloved superstar a total of 16 minutes.

Due to foul trouble, this would be the only minutes he would receive, ending the game with two points on three shots.

Oweh was selected with the 41st overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft by the Thunder after averaging 18.6 points per game during his senior season at Kentucky, joining former Wildcats Cason Wallace and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Although his preseason debut wasn’t the offensive performance he might have hoped for, Oweh will have more than enough opportunities to prove himself as he looks to earn a role in a professional rotation.

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Competes at Annual Pro Day Inside of Rupp Arena

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Photo via Marissa Gilchrist | UK Athletics

Kentucky held its annual Pro Day on Tuesday, Oct. 6, where NBA scouts were able to watch the team go through individual drills and a live game-like scrimmage. There are plenty of takeaways that stood out during the two hour practice. Let’s dive into it:

1.) Franck Kepnang Shows Off in the Paint

The first thing that stood out was transfer big man Franck Kepnang, with the seven-foot big from Washington dominating in the paint. Starting with the individual drills, he showed his size and ability to get downhill off of a pick-and-roll.

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The bigs went through a finishing through contact drill, and the new Wildcat seemed unfazed by the pads being pounded against him. With Moreno and Kepnang running the paint together, it will make it very difficult for opposing teams to stop both of them.

2.) Ousmane N’Diaye Has High-Scoring Performance

Overseas big Ousmane N’Diaye was another standout in front of the NBA scouts. In the first six-minute “quarter”, N’Diaye led all scorers with eight points.

He showed off his ability to score at all three levels, hitting multiple threes and also demonstrating his ability to score in the paint. N’Diaye wasn’t playing the five spot, which really allowed his team to stretch the floor and help with spacing.

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With Moreno, Kepnang, N’Diaye and Reece Potter all standing at seven-feet tall, Mark Pope has the opportunity to run a four-big lineup all while each player hones a different skillset. Having this much size will pay dividends come time for conference play.

3. The Forwards Do a Little Bit of Everything

A few other players who performed well were Milan Momcilovic and Braydon Hawthorne. Momcilovic played very unselfish during the inter-squad scrimmage, looking to first get his teammates involved and not forcing his game whatsoever.

He did hit a nice step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer in the second “quarter”, highlighting his 10-point performance. Hawthorne had some great looks from beyond the arc and did a phenomenal job getting his teammates open, driving and distributing the rock.

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He finished with six points and one assist.

Overall, the whole team appeared molded together and played as a unit rather than just isolation ball, which is a great sign in early October. There is no shortage of individual talent on this roster, and that was evident on Tuesday, with leaders and experience at every position.

The wait is almost over BBN. Kentucky will take the court in its first exhibition game on Friday, Oct. 16, when Little Rock comes into town. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and will air live on SEC Network+.

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