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.

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.

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.

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.

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

• Time: 7:10 PM EST on March 21st
• Location: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA
• TV Channel: CBS
• Online Stream: CBS Sports and the CBS Sports app.
• Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the radio call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
• Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
• Rosters: UK | OAK
• Stats to Know: UK | OAK
• KenPom: UK | OAK
• Team Sheet: UK | OAK
• Odds: DraftKings Sportsbook has Kentucky as a 13.5-point favorite, with an over/under of 163. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Kentucky an 89.1% chance to win. Bart Torvik and KenPom are lower, at 86% and 87%, respectively. While DRatings and EvanMiya are slightly more confident at 91.1% and 93.1%.
• Predictions: While there is some variation in the win percentage, the score projections are much closer, most within a point. Bart Torvik and DRatings both have Kentucky winning 88-75. EvanMiya is at 88-74. KenPom projects an 87-75 victory for Kentucky. Haslametrics is going with the biggest margin, an 87-73 victory for the Cats.