Love affair back on at March Madness

NEWARK, N.J. — He’s back.

If there’s a single player Duke or any of its fans would love to not run into when the stakes are this high, Caleb Love would be that player.

Love used to play for Duke’s biggest rival, North Carolina. Now he plays for Duke’s next opponent, Arizona.

They meet Thursday in the Sweet 16, with Love, now a fifth-year senior averaging 16.8 points a game for the fourth-seeded Wildcats, trying to wreck another season for the top-seeded Blue Devils, who have seen this movie before.

Love was the one who burned Duke for 22 points in 2022 to hand coach Mike Krzyzewski a loss in his last game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. He’s the one who, four weeks later, hit the 3-pointer with 25 seconds left, then a couple of more free throws to put away Duke at the Final Four — and officially end Coach K’s career.

“I just think that’s me not being afraid of the moment and me trying to impose my will,” Love explained. “Kind of like my St. Louis swagger to the game.”

In nine career games against Duke, he is a modest 5-4. His scoring average in the wins: 20.8. In the losses: 9.8. If Duke (33-3) wins Thursday, almost certainly it will be because the Blue Devils were successful in shutting down Arizona’s best player.

“The thing he does is, he can shoot shots at any time and he can hit shots at any time,” said Jon Scheyer, who took over for Krzyzewski at Duke. “He’s an improved passer, someone who’s not afraid. A really good player, and a challenge for our guys.”

Love grew up in St. Louis, committed to North Carolina and played his first three seasons there.

The year after the big wins over Duke, the Tar Heels opened the season at No. 1 in the AP poll but became the first preseason No. 1 to miss March Madness.

The player who also scored 27 in the second half of the Sweet 16 win on the way to that 2022 Final Four was suddenly seen as someone who shot too much, couldn’t come up big anymore and was bogging down the Tar Heels.

Into the transfer portal he went. A move to Michigan got submarined by problems with the admissions department. Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd was on a postseason family trip in Puerto Vallarta when Love called, saying he wanted to visit campus.

“My wife flew down and right when she landed, I said ‘I’m going back to Tucson for another day,’” Lloyd said. “Went back, had a great visit, and he committed. Listen, it’s been an awesome experience.”

Since the bracket came out, the possibility of this reunion has been lingering. When Love was asked about it on TV after Arizona’s win over Oregon last Sunday, he looked ready to launch, but he paused, gave a subtle grin and took the diplomatic route: “We’ll be ready for them when it’s time.”

Asked about that exchange Wednesday, he explained: “I didn’t want to give them no fuel or bulletin board material. I just wanted to focus on what this group got to do and not give them anything that they can feed off of.”

Not the worst approach.

Starting with freshman Cooper Flagg, whose ankle injury looks like a worry from the past, the Blue Devils have up to six players who might get picked in the NBA draft.

Loaded with talent, they were not challenged during the first week of the tournament, beating Mount Saint Mary’s by 44 and Baylor by 23. Of their 33 wins this season, 28 — including one in November over these Wildcats — have come by double digits. Of those, 11 have been by 30-plus.

So, it’s no surprise that the Wildcats come in as a 9 1/2-point underdog — the biggest on the board in a Sweet 16 filled with nothing but power programs.

That has nothing to do with Love’s thinking as he heads into matchup No. 10 against the Blue Devils.

“We’re not shying away from anything,” he said.

Knowing how he’s bedeviled them, why would they?

Alabama faces BYU in battle of top offenses

In Thursday’s opening East Regional game, Alabama faces BYU in matchup of two of the nation’s best offenses. So, naturally, both teams are talking about defense.

The second-seeded Crimson Tide face the sixth-seeded Cougars in a game expected to be an up-and-down affair filled with 3-point shots and transition buckets.

Alabama coach Nate Oats said his scouting report pegs BYU, which is moving to a wide-open, NBA style of play, as having the best offense in college basketball since Feb. 12.

The Crimson Tide needs no such qualifiers — they lead the nation in scoring at 90.8 points a game.

“It should be a very fun game, but it’s going to come down to getting stops,” said Mark Sears, who leads the Tide in points (18.6) and assists (5.0).

Both these teams can score from anywhere. They prefer 3-pointers — both are in the country’s top 25 in attempts — or high-percentage layups. They are both ranked in the top 10 in KenPom’s offensive efficiency ratings.

“I’m excited to hopefully be able to play some good defense, not have it be 150-149, or something like that,” BYU’s Trevin Knell said.