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NEWARK, N.J. — Caleb Love walked onto the court Wednesday afternoon at Prudential Center with Nike shoes that featured red, green and gray colors, along with a Carolina blue check logo.
But there was no message for the Tar Heels on those shoes as Love and No. 4 seed Arizona (24-12) went through their 15-minute portion of practice that was open for media members to watch.
Love, who played three seasons at UNC before transferring to Arizona, returned to Cameron Indoor Indoor Stadium in his debut season with the Wildcats. During that game, he had “Tar Heel 4L” written in black on the heel of his right shoe as a nod to his time in Chapel Hill.
“That’s what I am: I’m a Tar Heel for life,” Love said after the Wildcats’ 78-73 win at Cameron Indoor Stadium in 2023.
“Regardless of what differences or what happened in the past, I still got love for Tar Heel nation. I love them.”
Love will play Duke for a 10th and final time on Thursday (9:39 p.m., CBS) in the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The top-seeded Blue Devils (33-3) earned a 14-point win against Love and the Wildcats on Nov. 22 in Tucson.
DUKE-ARIZONA PREDICTION: Duke basketball vs Arizona prediction: Our pick for 2025 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
FIRST MEETING: Cooper Flagg stars as Duke basketball stifles Caleb Love, Arizona in top-25 road win
This will be the first postseason matchup between Love and Duke since the fifth-year senior dropped 28 points on the Blue Devils as a sophomore in the 2022 Final Four, including a dagger 3-pointer in Mike Krzyzewski’s final game as Duke’s head coach.
But Love was in no mood Wednesday to reflect on past success against the Blue Devils. When asked about the March Madness shot against Duke, Love smiled before providing an answer.
"I made the shot," Love said. "I mean, it really has no relevance to this game coming up. I just want to focus on the game plan that we have set. I want my focus to be with this group."
Following Arizona's win against Oregon in the round of 32, Love was asked about facing Duke during his postgame interview. He paused before providing a safe, coach-speak-like answer about preparing for the Blue Devils. When asked about that pause Wednesday, Love said he "didn't want to give them no fuel or bulletin board material."
"I just wanted to focus on what this group got to do," Love added, "and not give them anything that they can feed off of."
Through 12 NCAA Tournament games, Love is averaging 17.6 points on 38.2% shooting. Since making 55% of his shots against Duke in the 2022 Final Four, Love has averaged 10.5 points on 28% in the last four games against the Blue Devils.
Overall, he has a 5-4 record in nine games against Duke. So, is he tired of playing the Devils?
"No, not at all. It's the next game. I'm loving the guys that I'm going into battle with," Love said.
"We've been so locked in since we got here, since we found out we've got to play Duke. We're not shying away from anything, and we're not running away from the fact that this is another game and that this is a game that we have to win."
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Caleb Love previews final game vs Duke in NCAA Tournament
Continue reading...
But there was no message for the Tar Heels on those shoes as Love and No. 4 seed Arizona (24-12) went through their 15-minute portion of practice that was open for media members to watch.
Love, who played three seasons at UNC before transferring to Arizona, returned to Cameron Indoor Indoor Stadium in his debut season with the Wildcats. During that game, he had “Tar Heel 4L” written in black on the heel of his right shoe as a nod to his time in Chapel Hill.
“That’s what I am: I’m a Tar Heel for life,” Love said after the Wildcats’ 78-73 win at Cameron Indoor Stadium in 2023.
“Regardless of what differences or what happened in the past, I still got love for Tar Heel nation. I love them.”
Love will play Duke for a 10th and final time on Thursday (9:39 p.m., CBS) in the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The top-seeded Blue Devils (33-3) earned a 14-point win against Love and the Wildcats on Nov. 22 in Tucson.
DUKE-ARIZONA PREDICTION: Duke basketball vs Arizona prediction: Our pick for 2025 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
FIRST MEETING: Cooper Flagg stars as Duke basketball stifles Caleb Love, Arizona in top-25 road win
This will be the first postseason matchup between Love and Duke since the fifth-year senior dropped 28 points on the Blue Devils as a sophomore in the 2022 Final Four, including a dagger 3-pointer in Mike Krzyzewski’s final game as Duke’s head coach.
But Love was in no mood Wednesday to reflect on past success against the Blue Devils. When asked about the March Madness shot against Duke, Love smiled before providing an answer.
"I made the shot," Love said. "I mean, it really has no relevance to this game coming up. I just want to focus on the game plan that we have set. I want my focus to be with this group."
Following Arizona's win against Oregon in the round of 32, Love was asked about facing Duke during his postgame interview. He paused before providing a safe, coach-speak-like answer about preparing for the Blue Devils. When asked about that pause Wednesday, Love said he "didn't want to give them no fuel or bulletin board material."
"I just wanted to focus on what this group got to do," Love added, "and not give them anything that they can feed off of."
Through 12 NCAA Tournament games, Love is averaging 17.6 points on 38.2% shooting. Since making 55% of his shots against Duke in the 2022 Final Four, Love has averaged 10.5 points on 28% in the last four games against the Blue Devils.
Overall, he has a 5-4 record in nine games against Duke. So, is he tired of playing the Devils?
"No, not at all. It's the next game. I'm loving the guys that I'm going into battle with," Love said.
"We've been so locked in since we got here, since we found out we've got to play Duke. We're not shying away from anything, and we're not running away from the fact that this is another game and that this is a game that we have to win."
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Caleb Love previews final game vs Duke in NCAA Tournament
Continue reading...
