Kentucky is heading back to the NCAA Tournament, punching its ticket Sunday via an at-large bid as a 3-seed.

The Wildcats will start their March Madness journey in the South Region against 14-seed Oakland. It’s a matchup that should favor John Calipari and company, but fans have become a bit wary this time of year.

Kentucky has not advanced out of the first weekend of the tournament since 2019, including an upset at the hands of a 15-seed in 2022. Now is not the time to take a double-digit seed lightly, and the Wildcats will need to come out firing.

Here are 3 things to know about Kentucky’s opening round opponent from the Horizon League:

The Greg Kampe-John Calipari friendship

Greg Kampe has been at Oakland since the 1980s, and he actually has close ties with John Calipari. After Sunday’s reveal, Calipari admitted he was in contact with Kampe and even cheered for Oakland during the Horizon Tournament final.

Calipari said the two coaches “go way back” and praised Kampe as “not a good coach, a great coach.”

“I watched the second half, and they won, and I was cheering, and I told him… Look, I’m happy I watched half that game, but I’m not going to cheer the way I cheered that day,” Calipari explained.

It is cool to see that kind of bond between the coaches, but all bets will be off come tipoff.

Dynamic forward powers Oakland

This season, Oakland is led by junior forward Trey Townsend who led the Golden Grizzlies with 16.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists. The Horizon League Player of the Year exploded for 38 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists while playing 40 minutes in the Horizon League final against Milwaukee.

Townsend does not attempt a lot of 3’s, but Oakland as a team plays well off of Townsend and shoots 35% from deep. The Golden Grizzlies also have a pair of shooters averaging more than 3 made 3-pointers per game.

Though Oakland did not have a win in marquee games against Ohio State, Illinois or Michigan State, Townsend still played well on those stages. He scored 19 points with a double-double against Illinois and scored 17 points against the Spartans in East Lansing.

If the Wildcats can limit Townsend’s scoring, they will have a great shot at avoiding the dreaded upset by a double-digit seed.

Sleeping giant slayer?

Oakland has 3 previous trips to the NCAA Tournament under Kampe, but the Golden Grizzlies are still searching for their March moment. Their last trip to March Madness came in 2011 with a near monumental upset.

That year, Oakland entered the field as a 13-seed and went toe-to-toe with 4-seeded Texas in an eventual 85-81 win by the Longhorns. Do the Grizzlies have enough firepower to push the Wildcats to the brink this time around?

On the surface, it’s a great matchup for Kentucky and the elite guard play of the Wildcats. ESPN Bet has Calipari’s group as a 13.5-point favorite and a point total set at 162.5 points. Fans can track the latest odds and get in on the action with SDS’s Kentucky sports betting apps.

Kentucky also enters the NCAA Tournament with the 5th-best offense in the country per KenPom’s adjusted efficiency. That’s a potential matchup nightmare with Oakland checking in at 165th in adjusted defensive efficiency this season.

While the Golden Grizzlies did play some high-major opponents this season, they were unable to win any of those games, and the Wildcats stand poised to start the Big Dance on the right foot.