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Caleb Love has been crucial for the North Carolina Tar Heels in their run to the national championship game. But his shooting let UNC down in the national championship game against the Kansas Jayhawks as KU won 72-69 on Monday night.
March Madness has been a coming-out party for Love. His spectacular performance in the Final Four led to the retirement of the Duke Blue Devils' Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Love scored 28 points while shooting 11-for-20 in an 81-77 win Saturday. He hit a key 3-pointer and free throws in the closing minutes against Duke. But he was just 5-for-24, including 1-for-8 from 3-point range, for 13 points on Monday night.
UNC and general college basketball fans roasted Love after his performance.
Love was unable to find success in the game's final moments. But he was also unable to see success for almost the entire game even as UNC built a 38-22 late in the first half. His overall performance, just like his last shot, was on the receiving end of jokes.
His lack of success had one UNC fan buying into believing that the sophomore should play another year.
For a player with superstar potential, the end was disappointing. That may or may not entice him into another run at a championship. What is certain is that Love's performance against Kansas will be one he wants to forget.
In the most significant moment, Love could not deliver. Still, his performance throughout March Madness is worthy of praise despite the finish.
North Carolina's Caleb Love was great outside of its loss to Kansas
Despite his struggles against the Jayhawks(34-6), Caleb Love was crucial to getting the Tar Heels (29-10) to the national championship game. Love's efforts throughout March Madness were acknowledged when the all-tournament team was announced.
North Carolina got two of the all-tournament team members, with Armando Bacot joining Love. Kansas had two players on the team: David McCormack and Ochai Ogbaji.
For Love, being one of the tournament's five best players shows how crucial he was to UNC. The Tar Heels were a bubble team in February, but they were 20 minutes from becoming the second No. 8 seed to win a national title (Villanova, 1985).
His performance on Monday was disappointing but an anomaly in the grand scheme of his tournament run.
Still, the level to which Love struggled is noteworthy. If this is his last game as a Tar Heel, it will be a disappointing finish to an overall successful season.
Guess the Lakers players!
