Tag: Caleb Love

Poor shooting prevents an RJ Davis-Caleb Love rematch in the Elite 8

Star UNC guard RJ Davis and Arizona guard Caleb Love, a former Tar Heel, both shot horrendously from the field last night in Sweet 16 losses.

Coming into the NCAA Tournament, one of the greatest storylines to watch for was a potential battle between UNC and Arizona.

Why? It would’ve pit reigning ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis against his former backcourt mate, Caleb Love, who is the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year. The two remain friendly with each other, despite the rumored drama that much of Tar Heel Nation speculated to Love transferring.

It appeared the Tar Heels and Wildcats were on track to play each other – until upsets in Thursday night’s Sweet 16.

North Carolina was outplayed by an ever faster Alabama squad, while Clemson looked like the early-season version of itself, against one of the NCAA Tournament’s biggest chokers.

Two major reasons behind UNC and Arizona’s poor play were horrid shooting nights from Davis and Love, who shot a combined 0-of-18 from deep.

Davis was overall 4-of-20 from the field, but made 8-of-9 free throw attempts. Love was a bit better at 5-of-18, but still not impressive.

It’s difficult to imagine these two never helped North Carolina win a National Championship, but poor shooting nights like these certainly don’t help their cases. Every good player is bound to have a bad shooting night, but it stings extra when those nights come on the biggest stage of college basketball.

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Caleb Love and RJ Davis make unfortunate history on Thursday

Former Tar Heels teammates Caleb Love and RJ Davis both went 0/9 from 3-point range during upset losses on Thursday night, the first team two players did so on the same night in NCAA Tournament history.

Caleb Love and RJ Davis aren’t both wearing Carolina blue anymore, but the former teammates shared some accidental (and unfortunate) solidarity on Thursday night.

Both Davis’s North Carolina Tar Heels and Love’s Arizona Wildcats lost in the Sweet 16, and neither guard had a game to their usual standards. In fact, they each had one of the worst games of their careers.

Davis, the All-American Tar Heels star, finished with 16 points on 4/20 shooting. Love, the former Tar Heel who sent Duke packing in the Final Four two years ago, finished with 13 points on 5/18 shooting. Both players went 0/9 from beyond the arc.

Not only had neither player finished 0/9 from distance before, but two such performances in one night was unprecedented. Literally.

According to former ESPN researcher Jared Berson, Thursday night was the first time in NCAA Tournament history that two different players from 0/9 or worse from 3-point range on the same day.

Add it all up, and the former North Carolina teammates went a combined 9/38 (23.7%) from the floor and 0/18 from behind the 3-point line.

Duke villain Caleb Love struggles in Arizona’s upset Sweet 16 loss

Caleb Love, who helped UNC defeat Duke in Coach K’s final home game and final NCAA Tournament game, bowed out of this year’s bracket earlier than hoped after Arizona lost to Clemson on Thursday.

One upset loss can’t outweigh all the pain Caleb Love caused Duke fans two years ago. But it feels nice.

Love and the No. 2 Arizona Wildcats lost to No. 6 Clemson 77-72 on Thursday night alongside his Arizona teammates.

Love began his career with North Carolina, and he forever etched himself into Blue Devils lore in March 2022. He helped UNC upset the Blue Devils on senior night, the final home game of five-time national champion Mike Krzyzewski’s coaching career. In that same postseason, he hit the game-clinching 3-pointer to send Duke and Coach K home in the Final Four.

Love transferred to Arizona for the 2023-24 season, but even though he was in the Pac-12, he and the Wildcats came to Cameron and beat the Blue Devils again in the second game of the year.

This time around, however, Love couldn’t summon any heroics. The senior and this year’s Pac-12 Player of the Year finished 5/18 from the floor and 0/9 from three. He scored only 13 points.

His teammates didn’t fare much better as Arizona shot 37% from the floor and 18% from beyond the arc.

The Wildcats, the No. 2 seed in the West region, became the first top-two seed eliminated from March Madness.

Clemson advances to play Alabama, who defeated No. 1 North Carolina on Thursday night.

Brendan Haywood provided hysterical commentary for Dayton’s Kobe Elvis crossing up Arizona’s Caleb Love off the television screen

Okay, this was pretty hysterical.

Former NBA player-turned-commentator Brendan Haywood provided what might be the best bit of commentary in March Madness so far during Arizona’s second-round game against Dayton on Saturday.

It came after Dayton guard Kobe Elvis crossed up Arizona guard Caleb Love so badly that the latter stumbled out of frame on the television.

Once seeing this, Haywood brought his A-game with this absolutely priceless line: “He crossed him onto another channel… Caleb Love might be on TruTV right now.”

Okay, if that doesn’t make you cackle, we’re not sure what will. That’s just gold from Haywood on what happened there between Elvis and Love.

We’re going to be giggling about this all day long, as Elvis’ smooth move on Love almost made up for Dayton not having the lead on Arizona when it happened.

While it’d be Love to get the last laugh as Arizona got past Dayton with a 78-68 victory, this will surely be one of the highlights of the tournament no matter who the winner was. Kudos to Haywood for nailing it.

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North Carolina and Caleb Love end up in the same region of the NCAA Tournament

Two years after he helped UNC hand Duke one of the most painful losses in the rivalry’s history, Caleb Love could face his former team down the line this year.

North Carolina and Caleb Love have teamed to cause a lot of pain in Durham over the last few years, but the two could end up inflicting it upon each other in a few short weeks.

The NCAA Tournament bracket was revealed on Sunday, and the Tar Heels drew the top seed in the West region while Arizona finished as the region’s No. 2 seed.

Love played for North Carolina for the last three seasons, and two years ago he helped the Tar Heels win two of the biggest games in the history of their rivalry with Duke. UNC defeated five-time national champion Mike Krzyzewski in his final home game before beating Duke again in the Final Four, with Love hitting a dagger 3-pointer in the final minute to seal the second win.

Love transferred to Arizona before this season, and he was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year this year after he averaged a career-high 18.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists. He even came back to beat Duke on its home court again in the second game of the season, scoring 11 points in the 78-73 road upset.

UNC, meanwhile, made it to a No. 1 seed behind ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis.

Duke fans could be in a position to watch one of the most hated figures in school history face off against their most despised rival with a ticket to the Final Four on the line.

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NCAA Tournament could pit Tar Heels against a former player

If UNC and Arizona win three games apiece in the West region, they’ll face each other in the Elite 8. Why is this significant?

Just like that, Selection Sunday has come and gone.

Plenty of teams were thrilled to hear their names called, while plenty of bubble teams were disappointed to not hear theirs.

One of the many programs that heard its name was North Carolina, which earned the West Region’s top seed. Even with UNC’s loss to NC State in the ACC championship, losses the previous day by Baylor and Arizona pretty much locked UNC into a No. 1 seed.

Speaking of Arizona, the Caleb Love-led Wildcats ended up in the Tar Heels’ region as the No. 2 seed.

If all goes well for both North Carolina and Arizona, they’ll play each other in the West Regional final on March 30.

I like UNC’s chances in the West, but it’ll have to face either Michigan State or Mississippi State in the Round of 32. The Spartans have a trio of ranked wins against Baylor and Illinois (twice), while the Bulldogs spanked top-seeded Tennessee in the SEC Tournament.

Arizona has to get through Long Beach first, then any combination of Dayton, Nevada, Baylor, Colgate, Clemson and New Mexico. If you’ve watched any NCAA Tournament action in recent years, though, you know the Wildcats have a “choker” status to break.

The Tar Heels play either Howard or Wagner on Thursda in Charlotte, North Carolina, while Arizona will play Long Beach State on Thursday in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Will the two programs face each other on Easter weekend?

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Former Tar Heel Caleb Love named Pac-12 Player of the Year

It was tough when the UNC basketball team lost Caleb Love to the transfer portal, but that move worked out for both sides.

Former five-star UNC basketball recruit Caleb Love found a new home in the offseason, transferring out of Chapel Hill and to Tuscon to play for Arizona.

And it’s a move that paid off for him.

With the regular season in the books, Love was named the 2024 Pac-12 men’s basketball player of the year on Tuesday.

That decision to play basketball in the desert paid off, as Love was named Pac-12 Player of the Year.

This award is in addition to recently being named a finalist for the Wooden Award, given annually to the top player in college basketball.

He’s averaging 18.7 points per game, which is fourth in the Pac-12 and 62nd nationally. The guard shot 43 percent from the field and 35 percent from the three-point line this season.  Love has scored in double-digits 29 times this year, with a career-high 36 in a Jan. 27 victory over Oregon.

The former 5-star recruit from St. Louis, Mo. spent his first three seasons of college basketball as a Tar Heel. He provided plenty of huge moments, most notably his shot in the 2022 Final Four against Duke, that eventually sent UNC to the National Championship game.

Last season was disappointing – not just for Love, but for North Carolina as a whole. It missed the NCAA Tournament after being the Preseason Number One, while there was rumored drama between Love and RJ Davis, which both quickly denied.

Love was one of seven outgoing transfers last offseason. He originally committed to Michigan, but then de-committed and ended up at Arizona.

Wouldn’t it be cool if Arizona and UNC met in the Big Dance?

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What Arizona’s loss to USC means for North Carolina

Last night, fifth-ranked Arizona lost at unranked USC. This result could have a major effect on UNC’s NCAA Tournament seeding.

We’re 10 days into March, and we’ve already seen a fair share of madness.

Unranked Florida, which has teetered on the edge of the rankings in recent weeks, blasted 16th-ranked Alabama by 18 points on March 5. On the same day, UNLV beat a ranked San Diego State team, which lost again on Friday against Boise State at home, while Washington won at 18th-ranked Washington State on March 7.

Saturday brought its fair share of upsets. Kansas State downed sixth-ranked Iowa State. Tulsa beat 24th-ranked USF (South Florida). Fifteenth-ranked Kentucky beat fourth-ranked Tennessee, and Texas Tech topping 11th-ranked Baylor.

The most surprising upset of the day happened as the clock ticked into Sunday in much of the nation, and it could have a major effect on the UNC men’s basketball team ahead of the NCAA Tournament.

USC, which is tied for the second-worst record in the Pac-12, upset fifth-ranked Arizona 78-65. Former Tar Heel Caleb Love suffered through one of his worst shooting performances on the season, scoring just two points on 1-of-10 shooting.

Heading into the weekend, Arizona was being talked about as a potential 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament, while North Carolina was being touted as a 2-seed.

UNC won its sixth-consecutive game last night and clinched the ACC regular-season title at Duke. Combined with the Wildcats’ disappointing loss at USC, there’s a very good chance the Tar Heels could swap seeds with Arizona in the next round of bracketology. North Carolina could make a strong case with a great showing in this week’s ACC Tournament. Its first game will be in Thursday’s quarterfinals at noon ET.

Regardless of where UNC ends up, there’s no denying it’s one of college basketball’s hottest teams at the right time.

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Caleb Love hits milestone in Arizona win

Caleb Love hit a scoring milestone for the Arizona Wildcats in their big win at home against Washington over the weekend.

Former North Carolina Tar Heels guard Caleb Love is finding his groove at Arizona, helping the Wildcats to a tie atop the Pac-12 here in late February.

With Arizona chasing a No. 1 seed just like the Tar Heels are, Love is playing some of his best basketball. And during a big win over Washington on Saturday, Love hit a milestone.

Love reached the 2,000-point milestone for his career, finishing the game with 28 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. He got hot from the start of the game and carried that into the second half as the Wildcats fought off a late run from Washington.

Love spent three seasons at North Carolina, averaging 14.6 points per game over those three years. In just one season at Arizona, he’s averaging 19.4 points per game.

North Carolina fans know firsthand just how good Love can be scoring the basketball when he’s ‘on’ and if he gets hot at the right time, it will mean good things for the Wildcats.

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Duke forward Kyle Filipowski makes Naismith Trophy Midseason Team

Star 7-footer Kyle Filipowski is averaging 17.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game this season while upping his 3-point percentage to 34.5%. The production earned him some midseason recognition on the Naismith Trophy Midseason Team.

The Naismith Trophy announced its Men’s College Player of the Year Midseason Team on Thursday, and Duke forward Kyle Filipowski was one of the 30 names who made the cut.

Filipowski, a preseason All-American hopeful, is averaging 17.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game through 24 games this season, adding 2.8 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.1 steals to his average production. He’s shooting 49.8% from the floor and 34.5% from beyond the arc.

The Blue Devils 7-footer has scored 20 points in nine games this season, including a 30-point performance during a January win over Georgia Tech, and he’s recorded eight double-doubles.

He is currently seventh in the ACC in points per game and sixth in rebounds per game, one of just four players in the conference within the top 10 in both categories.

Three fellow ACC players made the midseason team, including Armando Bacot and RJ Davis from North Carolina and Clemson’s PJ Hall.

Former Tar Heel and eternal Duke rival Caleb Love, now playing for Arizona, also made the cutoff, as did defending Naismith Trophy winner (and presumed winner this year) Zach Edey from Purdue.