NEWARK, N.J. — Caleb Love needs no introduction to the Duke Blue Devils. And Duke fans certainly need no refresher course on Love.
The prolific shooting guard has faced Duke nine times, far more than any other opponent in his five-year collegiate career. That includes a 28-point night and a dagger 3-pointer for North Carolina in the 2022 Final Four, delivering an 81-77 win that ended Mike Krzyzewski’s career with a rivalry defeat.
It feels like destiny that Love, now with Arizona, gets one more shot at Duke when the fourth-seeded Wildcats battle Cooper Flagg and the top-seeded Blue Devils in the East Region semifinals Thursday.
Love demurred Wednesday when asked what he remembers about that triple in 2022 — “I made the shot” — but he isn’t shying away from his 10th round against the famed blueblood. Love has averaged 15.9 points against the Blue Devils but scored just 11 and eight in a home-and-home set between Arizona and Duke the past two seasons.
This will also be Love’s 13th career NCAA Tournament game and his third trip to the Sweet 16. Duke, by contrast, starts three freshmen in Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach.
“It’s the understanding if you lose, you go home, so that makes it — it can make you feel differently,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said of the tournament. “At the end of the day, it’s still about the same values and still the same emphasis from us as a staff and for our guys as players.”
Flagg broke out for 24 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks when Duke won 69-55 at Arizona on Nov. 22. But neither team is putting much stock in that four-month-old matchup because of how different each side looks now.
Arizona no longer has Motiejus Krivas, who started at center that day but is out for the year with a foot injury. Henri Veesaar and Tobe Awaka stepped forward in the frontcourt.
Duke was still starting Caleb Foster at the time, but he’s been replaced in the lineup by Tulane transfer Sion James. There’s also the matter of defensive stopper Maliq Brown, who sat out the first week of the tournament with a re-dislocated left shoulder.
“It’s day-to-day with Maliq, and there’s a chance he could be available (Thursday) night,” Scheyer said of the forward.
Both sides have offensive firepower, and both have shown it in the NCAA Tournament. Duke (83.2 ppg this season) poured in 93 against Mount St. Mary’s and 89 against Baylor; Arizona (82.2 ppg) dropped 93 on Akron before Love led a come-from-behind, 87-83 victory over Oregon. Love had 29 points and nine rebounds, including a crucial 10-point stretch late.
The game could come down to Duke’s penchant for defense. The Blue Devils rank No. 4 in adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom.com to complement their No. 1 offense, and they bottled up Baylor for 66 points on 36.8 percent shooting.
“I think just being able to get energy from players blocking shots, getting steals and those type of plays lead to kind of easier offense,” Flagg said. “So I think that’s kind of where it starts from. I think even for us as a team in general, we just take pride and enjoy helping each other out, having each other’s backs.”
Or will Arizona’s experience lend an upper hand? Besides Love, Trey Townsend (8.3 ppg) was on the Oakland team that felled Kentucky in 2024, and coach Tommy Lloyd is in his third Sweet 16 in four years.
“This Duke team … they’re physical, they’re long, they’re athletic and things like that,” Love said. “We’ve got to play kind of mind games and things like that to create advantages for ourselves on both ends of the floor.”
–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media
