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Another upset is in the books for the 2024 NCAA Tournament, and this time, it was No. 2 Arizona bowing down to No. 6 Clemson, 77-72 in the Sweet 16. But aside from the clear bracket-breaking loss, fans were quick to notice how Wildcats star Caleb Love put up a relative stinker in the defeat.
The six-foot-four senior guard (and former UNC transfer) tallied 13 points on 5-of-18 field goal shooting, while also laying a goose egg from 3 – hitting 0-for-9. He also just had a single assist and three turnovers. Jeff Goodman posted these nuggets of Caleb Love`s stat line on X, formerly Twitter, and fans had a field day with it.
Here are the top reactions to Goodman`s post, with one fan going as far as saying that Caleb Love will only be good enough for the G-League. Some were just flat out making fun of him while others were simply disappointed at the lackadaisical numbers:
In Love`s ineffective performance, Arizona had to look elsewhere and found it in youngster Jaden Bradley. The sophomore guard out of Rochester, NY stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal in 4-of-9 FG shooting. He also had two 3-pointers.
With the loss, the Wildcats have exited the NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years. They also bowed out of the same round in 2021-2022, when they were also Pac-12 top notchers with a 33-4 overall record. As for Clemson, the Tigers have finally made it back to the Elite Eight – their first time since way back in the 1980 season.
How did Clemson beat Arizona?
It was arguably clear to see that Tigers head coach Brad Brownell had schemed a plan to at least slow down Caleb Love offensively, and it worked. But a few other things worked out in their favor during the game as well. For one, their defense held Arizona at bay and slowed the pace down, which wasn`t the kind of game the Wildcats were known for this year.
Aside from that, Clemson hit their offensive stride in the first half early, building a 39-31 lead heading into the break. They were exposing the Wildcats` sub-par defense, getting several good looks off slow, deliberate half-court offensive action.
By the second half, Arizona mounted a furious comeback by finally tightening their defense up. They ended up taking the lead for the first time via a Caleb Love drive, 46-45, with 14:28 remaining. Both teams would mostly trade baskets with Clemson still keeping a slim lead until the final minute, 70-67.
But the Tigers` half-court offense once again exposed the `Cats` lapses on D, scoring on an excellent backdoor cut to make it 72-67. Arizona had an answer next time down with a 3 from Jaden Bradley, then Chase Hunter drove for an and-one layup in traffic plus the foul shot to make it 75-70 with under 30 seconds to play.
That was the backbreaker for Love and Arizona, and they never recovered from there. For Clemson, Chase Hunter finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, while center PJ Hall chipped in 17 points with eight boards.
