Caleb Love ends his career with an all-time performance
Down 15 just minutes into its second round game against Oregon last weekend, Arizona could have easily folded its tents. Instead, it took the lead 10 minutes later and hung on to advance to a third Sweet 16 in the last four seasons.
Being down 19 to top-seeded Duke with just over 13 minutes to go was another opportunity for the Wildcats to call it a year and move on. Instead, they pushed the NCAA Tournament favorites to the limit and made them play a full 50 minutes.
Arizona’s 2024-25 season came to an end Thursday night in a 100-93 loss to Duke in the East Region semifinals in Newark, NJ, hitting the same tourney ceiling its bumped into so often in the past decade. But unlike previous exits, which came against lower-seeded opponents, this time Arizona (24-13) was the decided underdog.
And the UA looked completely overmatched for the first seven minutes of the second half, during which the Blue Devils (34-3) turned a 6-point halftime lead into a potential blowout. But the Wildcats kept pushing, getting within two scores a few times in the final 3:22, but wasn’t able to complete the massive comeback.
The loss came in spite of Caleb Love capping off his tremendous college career with one of his best performances, scoring 35 points (21 in the second half) on 11-of-21 shooting including 5 of 9 from 3. It was the most points by a UA player in the NCAA tourney, topping the 32 by Derrick Williams in the 2011 Sweet 16 upset of Duke and Khalid Reeves in the 1994 first round.
What a nugget from @ESPNStatsInfo: Caleb Love is the first player with 35 points and 0 turnovers against a 1-seed in the NCAA tournament since Michael Finley in 1994.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 28, 2025
Jaden Bradley had 15 points, playing the entire second half despite foul trouble, and Henri Veesaar had 13 for the Wildcats, which shot 45.5 percent, made 12 of 26 3s and hit 21 of 23 foul shots.
Those numbers were nothing compared to those of Duke, which shot 60 percent and made 11 of 19 3s along with 23 of 27 free throws. Presumptive No. 1 NBA Draft pick Cooper Flagg had 30 points while Kon Knueppel had 20.
The 60 percent shooting for Duke was the worst Arizona has allowed in an NCAA game, topping the 57.6 percent by eventual champ Louisville in the 2013 Sweet 16.
Arizona trailed 48-42 at the break, a rough final 30 seconds in the first half allowing Duke to hit a pair of 3s while Love rushed a long triple in between. The Blue Devils made it a 9-point lead on their first possession of the second half and extended it to 12 on a Sian James corner 3 with 17:41 left, forcing a UA timeout.
Carter Bryant hit a 3 on the next play but that was the last time Arizona was within single digits until the under-8 timeout. Duke’s overall athleticism started to take took control of the game, making 13 straight shots dating back to 2:09 left in the first half to lead 70-51 with 13:12 to go.
Love tried to get back into it on his own, scoring 15 straight points for Arizona. His last basket, putting him over the 30-point mark, cut it to 10, then Veesaar dunked in traffic after getting the ball in traffic and was fouled, getting the Wildcats within 78-71 with 7:47 left after the free throw to complete an 8-0 run.
But during that play Bradley was called for a flagrant foul on a hook and hold, his fourth, giving Duke two foul shots (which it made) and the ball (which it dunked) to get the lead back to 11.
Duke’s Patrick Nbongba appeared to commit the same hook and hold foul against Veesaar not long after, but officials reviewed it and only called it a common foul. The Wildcats didn’t score on that possession and the Blue Devils scored on the other end to keep their lead in double figures.
Arizona whittled away at the deficit once more, getting within 87-69 with 4:45 left, 89-83 with 3:22 to go and 91-86 with 1:56 remaining on a Bryant triple.
But that was as close as the UA would get. Duke made its free throws down the stretch and also ate up clock with a key late offensive rebound.
Arizona came out hot, making five of its first seven shots including a trio of 3-pointers and built a 15-10 lead. Duke’s defense started to gel after that, forcing tougher takes for the Wildcats, and the Blue Devils began to get Arizona’s players in foul trouble. The most notable was Bradley, who got his second less than nine minutes into the game.
An 11-0 Duke run put it up 23-16 before Love, who started 0 for 3 with each from within the arc, hit one from outside. That got him and the Arizona offense going again, at the same time getting into the bonus and making up ground at the line.
A 3-pointer by Conrad Martinez, forced into duty with Bradley’s early foul issues, tied it at 32 with 4:35 left in the first half. That was one of four ties down the stretch before halftime, the last on a Love 3 with 46 seconds left, before Duke his back-to-back 3s to lead by 6 at the break with Flagg draining one in transition at the buzzer.