X

MCBB

    Reed Sheppard, No. 3 Kentucky Slammed by CBB Fans After Upset Loss to No. 14 Oakland

    Julia StumbaughMarch 22, 2024

    PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 21: Jack Gohlke #3 of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies passes against Reed Sheppard #15 of the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 21, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
    Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

    Reed Sheppard's stock in the 2024 NBA Draft may have taken a hit Thursday night.

    The projected top-five pick was held to three points as No. 3 Kentucky was upset 80-76 by No. 14 Oakland in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

    Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey, who played for Kentucky during the 2019-20 season, was not happy with the Wildcats' early exit from the tournament.

    Tyrese Maxey @TyreseMaxey

    Goodnight.

    Sheppard finished the first half of the loss with zero points.

    TheCatsPause247 @TheCatsPause247

    Reed Sheppard, DJ Wagner, and Justin Edwards combined for 0 points in the first half on 0 of 7 FG.

    Kent Spencer @WHAS11Kent

    Reed Sheppard is just getting up shots in the corner at the half….. has had three different members of the staff come up to him.

    Kyle Tucker @KyleTucker_ATH

    Kentucky needs Reed Sheppard — among others — to take a deep breath in that locker room. Cal should draw up a play for him to get off a shot right away and tell him to shoot it like he's been the best shooter in college basketball all year. He was super tight.

    Sheppard recorded his first field goal with just over five minutes remaining in the game.

    Brendan Marks @BrendanRMarks

    How does Cal not draw something up for Reed Sheppard to score before NOW? 35 minutes into a game you've been consistently trailing?

    With 13 seconds left on the clock and Kentucky trailing by four, Sheppard missed on a 3-point jumper.

    Ricky O'Donnell @SBN_Ricky

    Reed Sheppard picked a bad time to play the worst game of his life. Oh my god

    Midwest Hook 10.5 @MidwestHook

    I really would like to know what Reed Sheppard is doing tonight. This is the worst game I've ever seen a supposed top 5 NBA draft pick play

    Melanie Johnson @MelJohnson6527

    What an awful, awful shot by Reed Sheppard. Seriously, this is the nightmare game of his life. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchMadness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MarchMadness</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BBN?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BBN</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oakland?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Oakland</a>

    Sheppard wasn't the only Wildcat struggling during the loss.

    Freshman Rob Dillingham, another projected top pick in the 2024 draft, recorded 10 points while going 2-for-6 from behind the arc.

    Kentucky entered the game as one of the best three-point shooting teams in program history, but the team ended the night having made just 9 of 26 attempted threes.

    Reed Sheppard, No. 3 Kentucky Slammed by CBB Fans After Upset Loss to No. 14 Oakland
    Video Play Button
    ✨ Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content Right Arrow Icon

    Oakland guard Jack Gohlke, meanwhile, had a career night from behind the arc.

    Bleacher Report @BleacherReport

    JACK GOHLKE LIT UP KENTUCKY IN THE FIRST HALF 🔥<br><br>7 THREES OFF THE BENCH 🤯 <a href="https://t.co/wtIKKqhShu">pic.twitter.com/wtIKKqhShu</a>

    Gohlke, who began his college basketball career in Division II, became the first player in NCAA tournament history to hit seven 3-pointers against Kentucky by the half.

    He finished the game with a career-high 32 points thanks to 10-for-20 shooting on threes.

    Kyle Tucker @KyleTucker_ATH

    Oh my. Kentucky lead, Oakland bangs two more 3s. Jack Gohlke is 8 of 15 (!!!) from deep.<br><br>Golden Grizzlies lead 49-45, 13:43 to go.<br><br>Gohlke has now made as many 3s in this game as he's attempted 2s all season. Insanity.

    𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 @Three_Cone

    Jack Gohlke has made more threes in this game against Kentucky (9) than the number of two point field goals he's attempted all season (8) <a href="https://t.co/DwGWQkN49Q">pic.twitter.com/DwGWQkN49Q</a>

    Heading into Thursday night's first round, ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo had Sheppard ranked as the No. 2 prospect playing in the NCAA tournament, second only to Dillingham.

    In Jonathan Wasserman's 2024 NBA Mock Draft for Bleacher Report, Dillingham is projected to go to the Detroit Pistons with the No. 2 overall pick, while Sheppard is predicted to go the San Antonio Spurs with the No. 3 pick.

    Bucky Cooper @buckycooper

    I'd like to go on record in saying that if Sheppard and Dillingham are consensus top 10 picks for this upcoming NBA draft, this might be the worst draft class in history. WOOF.

    StatMuse @statmuse

    Points tonight:<br><br>32 — Jack Gohlke <br>13 — Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard combined <br><br>Dillingham and Sheppard are projected lottery picks —Gohlke isn't even on draft boards. <a href="https://t.co/wc6lYQ9i4N">pic.twitter.com/wc6lYQ9i4N</a>

    It remains to be seen if Thursday night's upset will impact this projected order.