"Can no longer defend this" - Skip Bayless gives up on John Calipari's reign as Kentucky HC after first-round upset loss vs. Oakland

American sports columnist and commentator Skip Bayless has given up on John Calipari's reign as Kentucky head coach after the Wildcats suffered another upset loss to Oakland in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

The No. 3 seed Wildcats suffered an 80-76 defeat to No. 14 Golden Grizzlies in the first round of the South Regionals at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Bayless posted a tweet on X about the latest choke job by Calipari and his Wildcats and it seems like the analyst has surrendered to supporting the 2012 champion coach, who is the second highest-paid in the NCAA at $8.539 million.

It was the second time in three seasons that Kentucky failed to make it past the second round. In 2022, the Wildcats, who had the second seed in the East Region, got stunned in the first round by Saint Peter's in overtime, 85-79.

Last year, Kentucky won the first round against Providence only to suffer a second-round setback against Kansas State, 75-69.

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Kentucky falls to Oakland on Gohlke's 10 3-pointers

Jack Gohlke kept the Wildcats at bay with 10 3-pointers en route to scoring 32 points. Oakland stunned Kentucky, 80-76, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Kentucky once again fell prey to another stunning upset in the first round and this time around, graduate transfer Jack Gohlke made the Wildcats pay for letting him open at the 3-point line.

Gohlke, a 6-foot-3 guard who played for Division II Hillsdale College, made seven 3-pointers in the first half to help the Golden Grizzlies to pull within three of the Wildcats lead, 38-35.

Oakland kept their composure in the second half. This time, Gohlke got help from Trey Townsend and DQ Cole, as the Horizon League champions kept Kentucky at bay with timely baskets down the stretch to pull off the big win.

Gohlke, who was the Horizon League's Sixth Man of the Year, finished with 32 points on 10-of-20 shooting, all from the 3-point line, and two rebounds in 36 minutes of action.

Townsend added a double-double of 17 points, 12 rebounds four assists, two steals and one block, while Cole came up with 12 markers, eight boards and four dimes.

Antonio Reeves led Kentucky with 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting, including 5-of-9 from the 3-point area. Tre Mitchell contributed 14 points and 13 rebounds while Justin Edwards and Rob Dillingham added 10 markers, apiece. Reed Sheppard was limited to three points and four assists.

Oakland moves on to the second round where they'll face the winner of the Texas Tech-North Carolina State duel. On the other hand, Kentucky faces another big exit and an uncertain future for its stars, who were left with a bitter pill to swallow following the loss.