Reed Sheppard, No. 3 Kentucky Slammed by CBB Fans After Upset Loss to No. 14 Oakland
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.
Sheppard finished the first half of the loss with zero points.
Sheppard recorded his first field goal with just over five minutes remaining in the game.
With 13 seconds left on the clock and Kentucky trailing by four, Sheppard missed on a 3-point jumper.
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.
Oakland guard Jack Gohlke, meanwhile, had a career night from behind the arc.
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.
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.
It remains to be seen if Thursday night’s upset will impact this projected order.
