John Calipari has failed once again, but if you listen to him long enough, he will let you know who to blame for the latest one.
Following a shocking first-round defeat in the 2024 NCAA Tournament to a 14-seed, the University of Kentucky’s head coach decided he would place the blame on his players for losing to Oakland.
Oakland had never advanced past the opening round before this historic upset.
“You know, what I hate is this team that really worked and did some good stuff,” Calipari told CBS Sports‘ Evan Washburn, “we didn’t play great; they did. They made some unbelievable shots…But they shouldn’t be — our team and our season — defined by that game, but it will be. This is the profession we’ve chosen. We had some guys that didn’t play the way they had been playing all year. We did everything we could. We knew the zone would be tough, but we missed shots we don’t miss.
“And, the preparation, I thought they were in a great (place) — trying to keep them loose. But when the game started, you had some guys not play to the level they could play.”
For the Wildcats, it was just another lackluster game under head coach John Calipari. After winning just nine games in 2020–21 and missing the tournament, Kentucky has now only won one game in the NCAA Tournament in the last five seasons.
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The Wildcats have lost to No. 15 Saint Peters in 2022 and No. 14 Oakland in 2024 in two of the past three tournaments. For John Calipari, he has failed to lead the Wildcats to an SEC Championship in four consecutive seasons.
The Kentucky Wildcats should have been National Title contenders, but for the third straight tournament, John Calipari’s team failed to get out of the first weekend in March Madness and it could very well lead to his departure from the program.
Oakland Star Jack Gohlke Had a Historic Night Against John Calipari & The Kentucky Wildcats
Every year a new March Madness legend is born. This year’s is Oakland standout Jack Gohlke.
Oakland guard Jack Gohlke was the star on Thursday night as he displayed his unbelievable shooting performance.
Gohlke led the Grizzlies with 32 points off the bench as John Calipari nor his player could figure out how to stop him. He became the fifth player in NCAA Tournament history to make 10 three-pointers in a single game. Trey Townsend contributed 17 points, four assists, and 12 rebounds.
Gohlke, who did not have a rank coming out of high school and committed to Hillsdale in October 2017, is now the most talked about player in the tournament.
