By R.L. Bynum
DURHAM — The familiar No. 2 was back in Cameron Indoor Stadium but in an unfamiliar uniform.
After three trips and two wins wearing Carolina blue, senior guard Caleb Love wore a dark-blue Arizona uniform with red trim Friday night for a third win in Durham, 78–73, to snap Duke’s 17-game home win streak.
Despite some of the heat he got last season from UNC fans, he reminded the world of his love for UNC by scrawling “Tar Heel 4L” (Tar Heel for life) on one shoe that featured a light-blue swoosh.
“That’s what I am; I’m a Tar Heel for life,” said Love, who talked to a few former UNC teammates this week. “Regardless of what our differences are, or what happened in the past, I’ve still got love for Tar Heel nation.”
From near press row behind one baseline, Mike Krzyzewski watched Love in person for the first time since the iconic 3-pointer at the Final Four in New Orleans ended his legendary coaching career with heartbreak. Love banked in a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining in the first half in front of him.
It was Duke’s first home loss since Love scored 22 points in a 94–81 UNC win to help ruin Krzyzewski’s last game coaching at Cameron.
This time, Love provided the heartbreak from the free throw line, hitting four key free throws in the last 17.4 seconds as No. 12 Arizona knocked off No. 2 Duke.
“I am not surprised he made them,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “I told him he deserved that moment. … I thought he was playing a little quick on some stuff. I can imagine it is a pretty emotional moment. He’s a competitive guy. For him to calmly step up and go four-for-four from the line down the stretch, it says a lot about him as a competitor.”
Love celebrated on the court after the game, he waved bye-bye to the Duke students.
“Obviously, the win, and then just waving them goodbye,” Love said of his best memory from the evening. “That’s definitely going to be a memory that I’ll never forget. It’s very satisfying. Obviously, it’s always going to be tough coming in here [with the] hostile environment.”
Love had 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal while Keshad Johnson led the Wildcats with 14 points. Kyle Filipowski led Duke with 25 points and eight rebounds, with Jeremy Roach adding 17 points.
“I knew I had my God, and my God has my back,” said Love, who said he didn’t notice that Krzyzewski was at the game. “Just coming in, I knew I was confident. I knew we were confident coming in this game.”
Love missed a 3-point attempt with 1:51 left, and Arizona with trailing by two after a Roach 3. But Love made a driving assist of a Johnson layup on a 3-point play that gave Arizona a 70–69 lead with 47 seconds left.
His clutch moments came with those four free throws.
“It felt good. I work on free throws every day.” Love said. “I knew I was confident going up to that line, and I knew we’d have to make those.”
There were more Arizona fans than expected, and they did loud “U of A” chants ringing down from the stands several times.
“We all know he was once a Tar Heel, and the rivalry they have,” Johnson said. “So we knew coming in, we just had to have his back. We’re brothers for life. He’s a Tar Heel for life, but we’ve got his back once he puts on an Arizona basketball jersey.”
Although no Duke students had signs directed at Love, he clearly wasn’t a welcome visitor. There were loud boos when he was announced as a starter, as well as when he returned to the game.
“I’ve been in environments like this. I played at big-time games, big-time environments,” Love said. “So, I’m kind of used to it. I didn’t want to make it about me. I want to make this about my team. And so we executed the game plan. We did what we had to do.”
It took nearly eight minutes for Love to get off a shot, and the long 3-point attempt rimmed out. Love’s first points came on a mid-range floater after a drive into the lane with 9:49 left in the first half.
He had an impact in the last minute of the first half, blocking Mark Mitchell’s corner shot with 36 seconds left before banking in a long the 3-pointer over Tyrese Proctor, which Love called a “bullshit” shot, to give the Wildcats a 41–33 halftime lead.
Love and Proctor were chirping throughout the game.
“Just normal competing; we both compete,” said Love, declining to get specific about what was said. “He’s a great player. I respect his game.”
Love and Roach were also exchanging words after the game.
Love was sloppy at times, with a team-high six turnovers. He dribbled the ball off his foot seven minutes into the second half, and Duke’s Sean Stewart scored at the other end to give the Blue Devils a 54–52 lead, their first since 5:54 remained in the first half. He had a bad turnover trying to kick the ball to the perimeter after a baseline drive in the first half.
But, most importantly, Love got the win to make him 5–3 against the Blue Devils and 3–1 at Cameron.
Dawson Garcia had a big night as Minnesota (2–0) beat Texas-San Antonio in a home game 102–76. He had 22 points, six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal for a 21.3 game score. He made all seven free-throw attempts and is shooting 91.3 from the line through two games.
After not starting in his Penn State debut, D’Marco Dunn started in Friday’s 74–65 home win over Lehigh, which plays at UNC at 2 p.m. Sunday. Dunn played 10 minutes and had nine points, one rebound and one assist for the Nittany Lions (2–0).
Puff Johnson missed his second consecutive game with an undisclosed injury.
After not playing in UAB’s first game, Will Shaver played 14 minutes, missing his only two shots with six rebounds in the Blazers’ 77–76 loss to Clemson in the Asheville Championship. UAB (0–2) faces Maryland in Sunday’s consolation game.
Tyler Nickel had two points and one assist in 22 minutes in Virginia Tech’s 79–77 loss to South Carolina in Charlotte. The Hokies fell to 1–1.
In Texas Tech’s 73–46 home win Wednesday over Texas A&M-Commerce, Kerwin Walton had three points and a rebound in eight minutes off the bench for the 2–0 Red Raiders.
No. 12 Arizona 78, No. 2 Duke 73
Checking in on 11 former Heels
Destiny Adams, Rutgers forward
6–3 | Junior | UNC 2021–23 (2 seasons)
76–56 Sunday loss vs. Auburn — Started; 30 minutes, 4 points, 2–7 FG, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 fouls, 6 turnovers, 2 blocks, 3 steals, -24
Season statistics — 3 games, 3 starts, 11.3 points, 38.2 FG%, 0–1 3FG, 72.7 FT%, 11.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 3.1 steals, 2.0 blocks
Next game — 7 p.m. Wednesday at Seton Hall
D’Marco Dunn, Penn State guard
6–5, 195 pounds | Junior | UNC 2021–23 (2 seasons)
74–65 Friday win vs. Lehigh — Started; 19 minutes, 9 points, 4–7 FG, 1–2 3FG, 1 rebound, 1 assist, -1, 6.7 game score
Season statistics — 2 games, 1 start; 6.0 points, 45.4 FG%, 40 3P%, 1.0 rebound, 1.5 assists, 0.5 of a steal
Next game — 7 p.m. Tuesday vs. St. Francis (Pa.), Big Ten Network
Dawson Garcia, Minnesota forward
6–11, 230 pounds | Junior | UNC 2020–21 (part of 1 season)
102–76 Friday win vs. Texas-San Antonio — Started; 34 minutes, 22 points, 7–14 FG, 1–4 3FG, 7–7 FT, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 foul, 2 blocks, 1 steal, +32, 21.3 game score
Season statistics — 2 games, 2 starts; 22.5 points, 45.8 FG%, 28.5 3P%, 91.3 FT%, 10.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.5 blocks, 0.5 of a steal
Next game — 9 p.m. Thursday vs. Missouri, Big Ten Network
Puff Johnson, Penn State wing
6–8, 205 pounds | Senior | UNC 2020–23 (3 seasons)
74–65 Friday win vs. Lehigh — Didn’t play; still recovering from an unspecified injury
Season opener — 7 p.m. Tuesday vs. St. Francis (Pa.), Big Ten Network
Caleb Love, Arizona guard
6–4, 205 pounds | Senior | UNC 2020–23 (3 seasons)
78–73 Friday win at No. 2 Duke — Started; 33 minutes, 11 points, 3–10 FG, 1–5 3FG, 4–4 FT, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 foul, 6 turnovers, 1 block, 2 steals, +1, 4.5 game score
Season statistics — 2 games; 2 starts; 11.5 points, 33.3 FG%, 27.2 3P%, 100 FT%, 3.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 block, 1.0 steal
Next game — 8 p.m. Monday vs. Southern, Pac-12 Network
Justin McKoy, Hawaii guard
6–8, 230 pounds | Graduate student | UNC 2021–23 (2 seasons)
2022–23 statistics (UNC) — 11 games, 1 start, 59 minutes, 19 points, 6–13 FG, 2–6 3FG, 5–5 FT, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 blocks
Season opener — 1 a.m. Tuesday vs. Hawaii Hilo
Tyler Nickel, Virginia Tech guard
6–7, 225 pounds | Sophomore | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
79–77 Friday loss to South Carolina in Charlotte — Didn’t start; 22 minutes, 2 points, 0–3 FG, 0–2 3FG, 2–2 FT, 1 assist, -4, 0.6 game score
Season statistics — 2 games, 7.0 points, 33.3 FG%, 22.2 3P%, 100 FT%, 3.5 rebounds, 1.0 assist
Next game — 6 p.m. Wednesday vs. Campbell, ESPN3
Will Shaver, UAB center
6–10, 270 pounds | Redshirt sophomore | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
66–63 Sunday loss to Maryland in Asheville — Didn’t play
Season statistics — 1 game, 0 points, 0–2 FG, 6 rebounds, 3 fouls, 3 turnovers
Next game — 8 p.m. Thursday vs. Alcorn State, ESPN+
Dontrez Styles, Georgetown wing
6–6, 212 pounds | Junior | UNC 2021–23 (2 seasons)
68–67 Saturday loss vs. Holy Cross — Started; 23 minutes, 7 points, 3–9 FG, 1–3 3FG, 2 rebounds, 1 block, -1, 3.6 game score
Season statistics — 2 games, 2 starts, 11.0 points, 40.9 FG%, 36.5 3P%, 1–2 FT, 6.0 rebounds, 0.5 of an assist
Next game — 8:30 Wednesday at Rutgers, FS1
Kennedy Todd-Williams, Ole Miss guard
6–0 | Senior | UNC 2020–23 (3 seasons)
80–70 Thursday loss vs. Oklahoma — Started; 29 minutes, 13 points, 4–13 FG, 2–5 3FG, 3–4 FT, 5 rebounds, 3 fouls, 1 turnover, 2 blocks, 1 steal, -2, 8.0 game score
Season statistics — 2 games, 2 starts; 12.5 points, 33.3 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 62.5 FT%, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.0 steal, 1.0 block
Next game — 6:30 Wednesday vs. Temple, SEC Network+
Kerwin Walton, Texas Tech guard
6–5, 200 pounds | Senior | UNC 2020–22 (2 seasons)
56–42 Sunday win vs. San Jose State — Didn’t play
Season statistics — 1 game, 3 points, 1–3 FG, 1–1 3FG, 1 rebound
Next game — 8 p.m. Thursday vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, ESPN+
Photos (other than shoe shot) via @ArizonaMBB
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