By R.L. Bynum
Caleb Love suffered the second-worst scoring and shooting night of his career as No. 6 Arizona got upset, while Dawson Garcia had a huge night in a Minnesota loss and Justin McKoy finished the regular season by leading Hawaii to a big senior night win.
Love was 1 of 10 from the floor and missed all six 3-point attempts as Arizona lost 78–65 at unranked USC in the regular-season finale Saturday.
The Pac-12 regular-season champion Wildcats (24–7, 15–5) open play at the final Pac-12 tournament at 3 p.m. Thursday with a quarterfinal game against either Washington or USC.
The only career game worse statistically for Love was UNC’s 83–70 home loss to Marquette on Feb. 24, 2021, when he scored one point and was 0 of 6 from the floor and 0 of 4 from 3-point range.
The only other time this season that Love, who played 31 minutes, failed to score in double digits was when he scored nine points in Arizona’s 97–59 win over Southern on Nov. 13, when he only played 26 minutes.
It was another tough loss for Minnesota (18–13, 9–11 Big Ten), but Garcia collected 30 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in the Gophers’ 90–66 loss at Northwestern.
Garcia has scored at least 30 points three times this season, netting 36 in an 84–74 Dec. 3 defeat at Ohio State and 30 in an 86–77 Jan. 15 home loss to Iowa.
Minnesota is the No. 9 seed in the Big Ten tournament in Minneapolis and will face Michigan State in a second-round game at noon Thursday.
McKoy, one of six players honored on Hawaii’s senior night in a 74–57 win over Cal State Bakersfield, scored a game-high 23 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the floor while making all 10 free-throw attempts. The number of free throws made was a career-high. He also had eight rebounds, two turnovers, and two steals.
Kennedy Todd-Williams had two solid games for Ole Miss in the SEC tournament. She had 18 points, five rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals in Friday’s 84–74 quarterfinals win over Florida. The Rebels (23–8) lost 75–67 to No. 8 LSU in the semifinals on Saturday, but she had 16 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals before fouling out.
Tyler Nickel scored 15 points and two 3-pointers and pulled down four rebounds Saturday as Virginia Tech beat Notre Dame 82–76 in its home finale.
The Hokies (18–13) play in the second round of the ACC tournament in Washington at noon Wednesday as the No. 8 seed against Florida State (ESPN or ESPN2). With a win, they would meet No. 1-seed North Carolina in a quarterfinal game at noon on Thursday (ESPN or ESPN2).
Puff Johnson came off the bench to collect 13 points and five rebounds Sunday in Penn State’s 78–69 home win over Maryland. D’Marco Dunn had five points and three rebounds.
The Nittany Lions (14–16, 8–11 Big Ten) are seeded No. 11, facing Michigan in the first round of the Big Ten tournament in Minneapolis at 9 p.m. Wednesday.
Dontrez Styles had 11 points, four rebounds and three assists as Georgetown finished the regular season with an 86–78 loss Saturday at St. John’s. The Hoyas (9–22, 2–18 Big East) play a first-round game in the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden at 6:30 Wednesday against the No. 7 seed.
Kerwin Walton had eight points and four rebounds as Texas Tech finished its regular season with a 78–68 senior day victory over No. 11 Baylor. The Red Raiders (22–9, 11–7 Big 12) play at 12:30 Thursday as the No. 4 seed in the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, facing BYU, Central Florida or Oklahoma State.
Will Shaver had two points and a rebound in UAB’s 74–70 Sunday home win over SMU. The Blazers (20–11, 12–6 American) are the No. 4 seed in the American Conference tournament in Fort Worth, Texas, meeting either Memphis, Rice or Wichita State at 3:15 Friday.
Elliot Cadeau, Michigan guard
6–1, 180 pounds | Junior | UNC 2023–25 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting point guard ahead of sophomore L.J. Cason
Season statistics — 15 games, 15 starts, 10.2 points, 46.7 FG%, 42.6 3P%, 67.6 FT%, 3.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.3 turnovers
Team record: 14–1, 4–1 Big Ten; Rank: No. 2
Tuesday: No. 2 Michigan 74, (at) Penn State 72 — Started; 27:29, 9 points, 3–8 FG, 1–5 3FG, 2–2 FT, 2 rebounds, 2 fouls, 1 assist, 3 turnovers, 1 steal, +3
Saturday: Wisconsin 91, No. 2 Michigan 88 — Started; 25 minutes, 19 points, 6–9 FG, 2–4 3FG, 5–5 FT, 3 rebounds, 3 fouls, 3 assists, 1 turnover, +2
Next game — 10:30 Wednesday at Washington, Big Ten Network
Trayanna Crisp, Mississippi State guard
5–8 | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 15 games, 15 starts, 8.9 points, 44.6 FG%, 39.7 3P%, 78.3 FT%, 1.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists
Team record: 14–3, 1–2 SEC
Sunday: (at) No. 8 Oklahoma 95, Mississippi State 47 — Started; 28:39, 7 points, 2–11 FG, 1–5 3FG, 2–2 FT, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, -39
Thursday: No. 23 Tennessee 90, Mississippi State 80 — Started; 31 minutes, 9 points, 3–6 FG, 1–4 3FG, 2–2 FT, 2 rebounds, 4 fouls, 3 turnovers, -14
Next game — 6 p.m. Sunday vs. No. 18 Ole Miss, SEC Network
RyLee Grays, Tulsa forward
6–4 | Junior | UNC 2023–24 (1 season)
Roster situation — One of four forwards competing for time
Season statistics — 16 games, 2.1 points, 47.1 FG%, 2–4 3FG, 69.6 FT%, 2.8 rebounds, 7 blocks, 4 steals
Team record: 11–5, 3–1 American
Tuesday: (at) East Carolina 79, Tulsa 48 — 9 minutes, 2 points, 1–1 FG, 2 rebounds, 1 foul, 2 assists
Next game — 4 p.m. Saturday at Charlotte, ESPN+
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 — 17 games, 10 starts, 10.7 points, 43.7 FG%, 35.9 3P%, 90.9 FT%, 2.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists
Team record: 12–5, 5–1 Big East
Tuesday: St. John’s 92, Marquette 60 — Started; 18 minutes, 4 points, 2–5 FG, 0–2 3FG, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 foul, 1 steal, +16
Next game — 8 p.m.. Saturday at Villanova, Peacock, NBCSN
Teonni Key, Kentucky forward
6–4 | RS senior | UNC 2022–24 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting forward
Season statistics — 14 games, 14 starts, 11.0 points, 54.9 FG%, 1–12 3FG, 70.7 FT%, 6.5 rebounds, 1.4 blocks
Team record: 16–2, 3–1 SEC; Rank: No. 6
Sunday, Jan. 4: No. 6 Kentucky 74, Missouri 52 — Started; 22:10, 5 points, 2–6 FG, 1–2 FT, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, +10
Thursday: (at) Alabama 64, No. 6 Kentucky 51 and Sunday: No. 6 Kentucky 63, No. 5 Oklahoma 58 — Missed both games recovering from a dislocated elbow
Next game — 7 p.m. Thursday vs. Florida
Ven-Allen Lubin, N.C. State forward
6–9, 250 pounds | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting center
Season statistics — 17 games, 17 starts, 12.7 points, 67.2 FG%, 37.5 3P%, 71.9 FT%, 6.6 rebounds
Team record: 12–5, 3–1 ACC
Tuesday: N.C. State 79, (at) Boston College 71 — Started; 23:38, 7 points, 3–5 FG, 1–2 FT, 3 rebounds, 3 fouls, 1 assist, 1 block, -1
Saturday: N.C. State 113, (at) Florida State 69 — Started; 25:48, 19 points, 6–7 FG, 7–8 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 fouls, 2 turnovers, career-high 4 blocks, +29
Next game — noon Saturday vs. Georgia Tech, The CW
Plays UNC —7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, ESPN or ESPN2
Tyler Nickel, Vanderbilt wing
6–7, 220 pounds | Senior | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starting forward
Season statistics — 16 games, 16 starts, 15.0 points, 52.6 FG%, 47.5 3P%, 80.8 FT%, 3.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists
Team record: 16–0, 3–0 SEC: Rank: No. 11
Wednesday: No. 11 Vanderbilt 96, No. 13 Alabama 90— Started; 26:50, 12 points, 4–8 FG, 1–4 3FG, 3–4 Ft, 1 rebound, 4 fouls, 1 assist, 1 block, +1
Saturday: No. 11 Vanderbilt 84, LSU 73 — Started; 19 minutes, 19 points, 6–12 FG, 4–10 3FG, 3–3 FT, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, +17 (first career double-double)
Next game — 9 p.m. Wednesday at Texas, ESPN2
Paulina Paris, SMU guard
5–9 | Senior | UNC 2022–24 (2 seasons)
Roster situation — Starting guard
Season statistics — 16 games, 10 starts, 10.7 points, 41.3 FG%, 25.4 3P%, 69.7 FT%, 3.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Team record: 7–10, 0–5 ACC
Sunday: (at) N.C. State 91, SMU 54 — Started; 29 minutes, 6 points, 3–11 FG, 0–4 3FG, 4 rebounds, 2 fouls, 2 turnovers, 1 steal, -40
Next game — 7:30 Thursday vs. Virginia Tech, ACCN Extra
Plays UNC — 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, at Carmichael Arena, ACCN
Will Shaver, Samford center
6–10, 265 pounds | RS junior | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
Roster situation — Reserve minutes
Season statistics — 15 games, 2.5 points, 50.0 FG%, 37.5 3P%, 50.0 FT%, 2.3 rebounds, 12 assists, 6 blocks, 2 steals
Team record: 9–8, 2–2 Southern Conference
Wednesday: Samford 82, Western Carolina 77 — 21 minutes (tied career-high), career-high 11 points, 4–7 FG (4 FGs career-high), 1–1 3FG, 2–2 FT (2 FTs ties career-high), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 fouls, 2 turnovers, 1 block, +7
Saturday: (at) Chattanooga 88, Samford 79 — 6 minutes, 1 rebound
Next game — 7 p.m. Wednesday vs. Furman, ESPN+
Cade Tyson, Minnesota wing
6–7, 180 pounds | Senior | UNC 2024–25 (1 season)
Roster situation — Starter
Season statistics — 17 games, 17 starts, 21.1 points, 50.5 FG%, 39.3 3P%, 79.4 FT%, 5.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists
Team record: 10–7, 3–3 Big Ten
Tuesday: Wisconsin 78, Minnesota 75 —Started; 39 minutes, 14 points, 5–10 FG, 1–2 3FG, 3–6 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 fouls, 3 assists, 1 turnover, 1 steal, -3
Next game — noon Saturday at Illinois, Big Ten Network
Jalen Washington, Vanderbilt center
6–9, 240 pounds | Senior | UNC 2022–25 (3 seasons)
Roster situation — Backup center
Season statistics — 16 games, 1 start, 10.1 points, 60.7 FG%, 31.6 3P%, 78.1 FT%, 5.3 rebounds, 1.4 blocks
Team record: 15–0, 2–0 SEC: Rank: No. 11
Wednesday: No. 11 Vanderbilt 96, No. 13 Alabama 90— Didn’t start; 9 points, 1–4 FG, 7–10 FT, 3 rebounds, 4 fouls, 1 turnover, 2 blocks, +5
Saturday: No. 11 Vanderbilt 84, LSU 73 — Didn’t start; 26 minutes, 11 points, 3–4 FG, 1–2 3FG, 4–5 FT, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, =/- of 0
Next game — 9 p.m. Wednesday at Texas, ESPN2
Photo via @ArizonaMBB
tarheeltribune.com 