By R.L. Bynum
Caleb Love sank four huge free throws in the win at Duke and has had other big moments, but hadn’t asserted himself offensively as an Arizona Wildcat until Friday night.
Love collected 20 points, three 3-pointers, six assists and only one turnover. He shot 8 of 12 from the floor and spearheaded a huge first-half run as the No. 3 Wildcats coasted to a 100–68 home win over Belmont.
“I was a little bit more aggressive coming into this game,” Love said. “The floor was opened up a little more because our offense is really fast, and it opens things up for all of us.”
Love got half of his points when Arizona (4–0) scored 18 consecutive first-half points — including a pair of 3-pointers and a reverse layup — and had 15 points with the Wildcats leading 56–35 at halftime. The run included eight points in 52 seconds.
“I was really proud of the effort he was playing with,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “I felt like he was really establishing a standard of effort for him that was higher than he had done previously. I told him if you stay true to that, your moments are going to come and they did tonight.”
In the second half, the 6–4 senior guard’s corner 3-pointer and dunk pushed Arizona’s lead to 73–44.
“When my shot is falling and things are going in rhythm, it’s just knowing the right shots to take and the right plays to make,” said Love, who dished out three of his assists after halftime, including an alley-oop to Keshad Johnson and a behind-the-back pass to Johnson, who dunked.
Love was one of five Wildcats to score in double figures, including Motieju Krivas, who had 20 points and nine rebounds. Krivas and Love were the first Wildcats to score at least 20 points in a game this season.
“We got a lot of weapons on this team, and so anybody can get to it any given night,” Love said.
Arizona (4–0) returns home Sunday to face UT Arlington at 6 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Networks).
Penn State (4–0) easily beat Morehead State at home 74–51 on Friday night, but D’Marco Dunn and Puff Johnson each had quiet games off the bench.
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In his second game of the season, Johnson had four points, a block and a steal in 16 minutes. Dunn, who has only started one of the Nittany Lions’ four games, had three points on 1 of 4 shooting in 14 minutes.
In Saturday games, Destiny Adams’ Rutgers team (2–2) hosts Saint Francis at noon, Dawson Garcia’s Minnesota team (2–1) hosts South Carolina-Upstate at 2 p.m., Dontrez Style’s Georgetown team (1–2) hosts Mount St. Mary’s at noon, and Kennedy Todd-Williams’ No. 23 Ole Miss team (2–1) faces Howard in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas at noon.
Elliot Cadeau, Michigan guard
6–1, 180 pounds | Junior | UNC 2023–25 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 36 games, 36 starts, 10.1 points, 41.5 FG%, 37.5 3P%, 71.2 FT%, 2.6 rebounds, 5.7 assists
Team record: 33–3; Rank: No. 3
Thursday: 101–80 win in Buffalo in NCAA tournament first round over Howard — Started; 26:24, 5 points, 1–5 FG, 1–5 3FG, 2–2 FT, 2 rebounds, 1 foul, 9 assists, 1 turnover, 1 steal, +23
Saturday: 95–72 win in Buffalo in NCAA tournament second round over Saint Louis — Started; 37 minutes, 12 points, 4–10 FG, 3–5 3FG, 1–2 FT, 4 rebounds, 3 fouls, 8 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 block
Next game — Friday in NCAA Sweet 16 in Chicago vs. Alabama or Texas Tech
Trayanna Crisp, Mississippi State guard
5–8 | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 30 games, 30 starts, 8.7 points, 38.3 FG%, 37.1 3P%, 84.6 FT%, 2.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists
Team record: 18–13
Season over
RyLee Grays, Tulsa forward
6–4 | Junior | UNC 2023–24 (1 season)
Roster situation — One of four forwards competing for time
Season statistics — 30 games, 2.3 points, 43.6 FG%, 4–10 3FG, 69.7 FT%, 2.3 rebounds, 8 blocks, 12 steals
Team record: 19–12
Thursday: 76–73 loss to North Texas in American tournament — Didn’t play
Season over
Ian Jackson, St. John’s guard
6–5, 195 pounds | Sophomore | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter, sharing time in a point-guard-by-committee mix
Season statistics — 34 games, 19 starts, 9.6 points, 41.7 FG%, 35.7 3P%, 90.0 FT%, 2.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Team record: 29–6; Rank: No. 13
Friday in NCAA tournament first round in San Diego vs. Northern Iowa — Didn’t start; 9 minutes, 9 points, 3–5 FG, 1–2 3FG, 2–2 FT, 2 rebounds, 1 foul, 2 assists, 1 turnover
Next game — 5:15 p.m. Sunday in NCAA tournament second round in San Diego vs. Kansas, CBS
Puff Johnson, Ohio State
6–8, 190 pounds | Graduate | UNC 2020–23 (3 seasons)
Roster situation — Reserve
Team record: 21–13
Season statistics — 9 games, 1 start, 2.3 points, 33.3 FG%, 3–7 3FG, 6–9 FT, 1.1 rebounds
Thursday in first round of the NCAA tournament in Greenville, S.C.: 66–64 loss to TCU — Didn’t play
Season over
Teonni Key, Kentucky forward
6–4 | RS senior | UNC 2022–24 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting forward
Season statistics — 25 games, 25 starts, 11.2 points, 52.1 FG%, 2–13 3FG, 67.9 FT%, 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocks
Team record: 23–10; Rank: No. 17
Next game — Saturday vs. No. 12 James Madison in Morgantown, W.Va., as the No. 5 seed in the Fort Worth 3 Regional
Ven-Allen Lubin, N.C. State forward
6–9, 250 pounds | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting center
Season statistics — 34 games, 34 starts, 13.6 points, ACC-leading 66.8 FG%, 27.3 3P%, 73.3 FT%, 7.1 rebounds
Team record: 20–143
Tuesday: 68–66 loss vs. Texas at First Four in Dayton, Ohio — Started; 22:38, 6 points (tied season-low), 2–6 FG, 2–2 FT, 5 rebounds, 5 fouls, 1 assist, -4
Season over
Tyler Nickel, Vanderbilt wing
6–7, 220 pounds | Senior | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting forward
Season statistics — 35 games, 35 starts, 13.3 points, 44.8 FG%, 39.9 3P%, 86.0 FT%, 3.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists
Team record: 27–8: Rank: No. 22
Thursday in NCAA tournament second round in Oklahoma City vs. McNeese State — Started; 32:52, 12 points, 3–9 FG, 3–8 3FG, 3–4 FT, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, +7
Next game — 8:45 Saturday in NCAA tournament second round in Oklahoma City vs. Nebraska, TNT
Paulina Paris, SMU guard
5–9 | Senior | UNC 2022–24 (2 seasons)
Season statistics — 20 games, 12 starts, 9.6 points, 39.9 FG%, 25.0 3P%, 69.7 FT%, 2.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Team record: 9–21, 2–16 ACC
Suffered a season-ending left foot injury.
Will Shaver, Samford center
6–10, 265 pounds | RS junior | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
Roster situation — Reserve minutes
Season statistics — 30 games, 2.6 points, 47.6 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 59.3 FT%, 2.6 rebounds, 17 blocks, 7 steals
Team record: 18–14
Season over
Cade Tyson, Minnesota wing
6–7, 180 pounds | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 31 games, 32 starts, team-leading 19.6 points, 50.0 FG%, 42.2 3P%, 82.6 FT%, 5.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists
Team record: 15–17
Season over
Jalen Washington, Vanderbilt center
6–9, 240 pounds | Senior | UNC 2022–25 (3 seasons)
Roster situation — Backup center
Season statistics — 35 games, 9 starts, 9.0 points, 55.6 FG%, 29.4 3P%, 74.1 FT%, 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 blocks
Team record: 27–8; Rank: No. 22
Thursday in NCAA tournament second round in Oklahoma City vs. McNeese State — Didn’t start; 14:54, 4 points, 2–3 FG, 3 rebounds, 2 fouls, 1 assist, 1 turnover, +9
Next game — 8:45 Saturday in NCAA tournament second round in Oklahoma City vs. Nebraska, TNT
Photo via @ArizonaMBB
