March Madness: Magic Johnson Nearly Forgets Alma Mater’s Victory Due to Oakland Star’s Heroics

Jack Gohlke sent a message throughout the NCAA Tournament and that is do not discount Oakland. His penchant for only shooting 3-pointers led them to a mindblowing 80-76 victory over Kentucky. That’s toppling a #3 Goliath. So that’s an upset win as it comes. Oh, and the Spartans won too. Someone let Magic Johnson know that.

Because the NBA scoring legend was overwhelmed with Oakland’s clutch hero. And like he always does, he spilled his joy on X. “Major NCAA March Madness tournament 80-76 upset victory for #14 seed Oakland over the #3 seed Kentucky! Oakland’s guard Jack Gohlke was sizzling hot, draining 10 3s in his 32 point performance to carry his team to a win … His 10 3s was one shy from tying the NCAA tournament single game 3-point record!”

His school, the Michigan State Spartans also snagged a 69-51 win over Mississippi on Thursday too. So they got a mention after Gohlke. “The state of Michigan came ready to play in the tournament, with MSU and now Oakland both winning today!!”

Can you blame Magic? Gohlke redeemed the Golden Grizzlies from the initial hiccup with a spree of threes 10 times in the game. 7 of them in the first 20 minutes. This is a #14 school that defeated what was considered one of the best 3-point shooting squad in the country.

Gohlke came off the bench with a 32-point performance, including coming close to the record for most 3-pointers made in an NCAA Tournament. That record is still held by Jeff Fryer of Loyala Marymount, who made 11 in 1990. Gohlke is now the fifth player in NCAA Tournament history to make 10 in one game. As of the latest estimates, Gohlke is third in D1 with 3.6 made 3-pointers per game. Stunningly, his 37% 3-point shooting percentage was 66th in the country. Is anyone in the NBA watching?

Magic Johnson is loyal to the Green and White

Some are mistaking the Golden Grizzlies for a California school. Oakland University is in Rochester, more than an hour from Michigan State in Lansing. So Magic would keep up with his homegrown squads. And no, he didn’t forget his Spartans because of Gohlke.

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Before the Golden Grizzlies’ stunner, he was hyped for Michigan State. Tyson Walker and Jaden Akins’ performances got special mentions. He also hyped Tom Izzo who now holds the record of being the only head coach to take his team to the NCAA Tournament most times in history.

Not a single athlete’s heroics in March Madness is going unnoticed by Magic Johnson. But, he first and foremost, bleeds green and white.

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