By R.L. Bynum
Five days after his former UNC backcourt mate RJ Davis scored a career-high 36 points against Wake Forest, Caleb Love matched that on Saturday night.
Love’s career-high came in an 87–78 road victory over Oregon two days after the No. 9 Wildcats (15–5, 6–3 Pac-12) lost at Oregon State 83–80 when Love scored 23 points and two 3-pointers.
Love was 12 of 18 from the floor and 5 of 8 from 3-point range against the Ducks.
“I was just trying to play within the offense and let my teammates create for me,” Love said.
Love topped his previous best scoring game, which was 34 points on Nov. 27 last season in Carolina’s 104–101 four-overtime loss to Alabama in Portland. The big difference is that he needed 36 shots in that game and only 18 on Saturday.
It was his third career game with at least 30 points. He netted 30 in Carolina’s 73–66 NCAA tournament victory over UCLA in the 2022 NCAA Sweet 16. It was his seventh career game with at least five 3-pointers and third this season.
Three former Tar Heels were on the court for Minnesota’s 83–74 victory at Penn State.
Dawson Garcia scored 20 points with four rebounds and three assists for the Gophers (13–7, 4–5 Big Ten). Puff Johnson had four points and D’Marco Dunn two points for the Nittany Lions (9–11, 3–6).
Tyler Nickel scored 11 points and three 3-pointers and dished out three assists as host Virginia Tech (13–7, 5–4 ACC) knocked off Georgia Tech 91–67.
Kerwin Walton contributed seven points before fouling out in No. 25 Texas Tech’s 85–84 home victory over No. 15 Oklahoma. The Red Raiders are 16–3 overall and 5–1 in the Big 12.
Kennedy Todd-Williams had 11 points, nine rebounds and eight assists Thursday as host Ole Miss beat Florida 81–70. The Rebels (14–5, 4–2 SEC) host Tennessee at 3 p.m. Sunday (ESPN)
Destiny Adams collected 11 points and seven rebounds in Rutgers’ 73–62 Saturday loss at Wisconsin. The Scarlet Knights (6–16, 0–9 Big Ten) have lost 11 consecutive games.
Dontrez Styles had three points and four rebounds in Georgetown’s 83–76 Saturday loss at Providence, the fifth consecutive loss for the Hoyas (8–12, 1–8 Big East).
Checking in on 11 former Heels
Destiny Adams, Rutgers forward
6–3 | Junior | UNC 2021–23 (2 seasons)
77–69 Wednesday, March 6, loss vs. Minnesota in first round of Big Ten tournament — Started; 38 minutes, 31 points, 12–24 FG, 0–1 3FG, 7–12 FT, career-high 24 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 fouls, 4 turnovers, 1 block, 1 steal, -11, 16.7 game score
Season statistics — 32 games, 32 starts, 15.6 points, 50.1 FG%, 1–8 3FG, 68.3 FT%, 7.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.8 of a block
Record — 8–24; season over
D’Marco Dunn, Penn State guard
6–5, 195 pounds | Junior | UNC 2021–23 (2 seasons)
61–59 Thursday, March 13, loss vs. Indiana in second round of Big Ten tournament — Didn’t start; 25 minutes, 9 points, 2–5 FG, 1–2 3PFG, 2 rebounds, 1 foul, -11, 4.9 game score
Season statistics — 33 games, 12 starts; 6.8 points, 39.5 FG%, 36.6 3P%, 73.8 FT%, 1.8 rebounds, 0.6 of an assist
Record — 16–17; season over
Dawson Garcia, Minnesota forward
6–11, 230 pounds | Junior | UNC 2020–21 (part of 1 season)
73–72 Tuesday win at Butler in the first round of the NIT — Started; 34 minutes, 25 points, 11–19 FG, 1–4 3FG, 2–2 FT, 4 rebounds, 4 fouls, 2 turnovers
76–64 Sunday loss at Indiana State in the second round of the NIT — Started; 28 minutes, 6 points, 2–5 FG, 2–2 FT, 12 rebounds, 4 fouls, 4 turnovers, 2 blocks
Season statistics — 31 games, 31 starts; 17.6 points (led team), 48.6 FG%, 31.9 3P%, 80.2 FT%, 6.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 block
Record — 19–15; season over
Puff Johnson, Penn State wing
6–8, 205 pounds | Senior | UNC 2020–23 (3 seasons)
61–59 Thursday, March 13, loss vs. Indiana in second round of Big Ten tournament — Started; 31 minutes, 16 points, 4–11 FG, 2–6 3PFG, 7–7 FT, 8 rebounds, 4 fouls, 2 steals, -5, 12.1 game score
Season statistics — 29 games, 12 starts; 7.3 points, 42.2 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 78.5 FT%, 3.1 rebounds, 0.7 of a steal
Record — 16–17; season over
Caleb Love, Arizona guard
6–4, 205 pounds | Senior | UNC 2020–23 (3 seasons)
85–65 Thursday win over Long Beach State in the first round of NCAA tournament quarterfinals in Salt Lake City — Started; 34 minutes, 18 points, 6–17 FG, 3–12 3FG, 3–5 FT, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, 2 steals, +24, 18.0 game score
78–68 Saturday win vs. Dayton in the second round of NCAA tournament in Salt Lake City — Started; 35 minutes, 19 points, 6–15 FG, 3–8 3FG, 4–6 FT, 3 rebounds, 1 foul, 5 assists, 4 turnovers, 1 block 1 steal, +6, 11.8 game score
Season statistics — 35 games, 35 starts; 18.1 points (leads team), 41.8 FG%, 34.3 3P%, 83.6 FT%, 4.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.1 steals
Record — 27–8; Rank — No. 6; Next game — 7:09 Thursday vs. Clemson in NCAA Sweet 16 in Los Angeles, CBS
Justin McKoy, Hawaii guard
6–8, 230 pounds | Graduate student | UNC 2021–23 (2 seasons)
68–65 Friday, March 15, loss vs. UC Davis in semifinals of Big West tournament — Started; 33 minutes, 10 points, 3–11 FG, 0–3 3FG, 4–4 FT, 6 rebounds, 1 assists, 3 fouls, -9, 1.6 game score
Season statistics — 34 games, 34 starts, 12.4 points, 47.4 FG%, 36.8 3P%, 87.2 FT%, 6.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Record — 20–14; season over
Tyler Nickel, Virginia Tech guard
6–7, 225 pounds | Sophomore | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
74–58 Tuesday win vs. Richmond in the first round of NIT — Didn’t start; 17 minutes, 3 points, 1–1 FG, 1–1 FT, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 foul, +2, 3.3 game score
81–73 Saturday loss at Ohio State in the second round of NIT — Didn’t start; 12 minutes, 6 points, 2–7 FG, 2–4 3PFG, 2 fouls, 1 turnover, -9, 0.1 game score
Season statistics — 34 games, 7 starts; 8.8 points, 43.8 FG%, 39.9 3P%, 82.0 FT%, 2.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Record — 19–15; season over
Will Shaver, UAB center
6–10, 270 pounds | Redshirt sophomore | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
69–65 Friday loss vs. San Diego State in the first round of NCAA tournament in Spokane, Wash. — 4 minutes, 1 point, 1–2 FT, -4, 0.6 game score
Season statistics — 18 games, 87 minutes, 20 points, 6–17 FG, 0–2 3FG, 8–16 FT, 18 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 steal
Record — 23–12; season over
Dontrez Styles, Georgetown wing
6–6, 212 pounds | Junior | UNC 2021–23 (2 seasons)
74–56 Wednesday, March 13, loss vs. Providence in first round of Big East tournament — Started; 35 minutes, 7 points, 3–7 FG, 0–3 3FG, 1–5 FT, 9 rebounds, 1 assists, 3 fouls, 2 turnovers
Season statistics — 32 games, 32 starts, 12.8 points, 43.0 FG%, 36.8 3P%, 77.6 FT%, 5.8 rebounds, 0.8 of an assist, 0.6 of a block
Record — 9–23; season over
Kennedy Todd-Williams, Ole Miss guard
6–0 | Senior | UNC 2020–23 (3 seasons)
67–55 Saturday win vs. Marquette in South Bend, Ind., in first round of NCAA tournament — Started; 35 minutes, 15 points, 5–13 FG, 2–4 3FG, 3–6 FT, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 foul, 2 steals, +15, 12.2 game score
71–56 Monday loss at Notre Dame in the second round of NCAA tournament — Started; 33 minutes, 15 points, 5–12 FG, 1–6 3FG, 4–4 FT, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 fouls, 3 steals, -12, 9.4 game score
Season statistics — 33 games, 25 starts; 10.6 points, 38.4 FG%, 26.7 3PFG%, 78.0 FT%, 4.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals
Record — 24–9; season over
Kerwin Walton, Texas Tech guard
6–5, 200 pounds | Senior | UNC 2020–22 (2 seasons)
80–67 Thursday loss to N.C. State in Pittsburgh in the first round of the NCAA tournament — Started; 20 minutes, 9 points, 3–5 FG, 3–4 3PFG, 5 rebounds, 4 fouls, -2, 8.2 game score
Season statistics — 32 games, 25 starts, 8.4 points, 49.5 FG%, 47.0 3P%, 72.7 FT%, 2.3 rebounds, 0.5 of an assist
Record — 23–11; season over
Photo via @ArizonaMBB
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