Caleb Love struggles as Arizona Wildcats fall out of first place in Big 12
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The Arizona Wildcats impressive win streak came to an end Saturday as Tommy Lloyd's team tasted defeat for the first time in 2025.
Winners of seven consecutive games coming into Saturday's Big 12 matchup with Texas Tech, the Wildcats were humbled by the Red Raiders in a 70-54 loss.
The late-game woes that have plagued Arizona this season were an issue once again. Trailing 57-54 with 5 minutes to play, the Wildcats were outscored 13-0 the rest of the way. Fifth-year senior guard Caleb Love was 0-of-4 with a turnover in the final 5 minutes.
Love scored 9 points on 3-of-13 shooting (0-of-5 from downtown), and finished with 6 rebounds and 3 turnovers in 35 minutes.
But he wasn't the only one who struggled.
KJ Lewis was just 1-of-7 and scored 4 points, and Henri Veesaar was 0-of-5 and did not score. Veesaar came into the game averaging 12.4 points and 6.6 rebounds in Arizona's first five Big 12 games.
Jaden Bradley led Arizona with 11 points, and freshman Carter Bryant added 10.
Texas Tech dominated Arizona on the boards, finishing with a 50-34 rebounding advantage — including 16 offensive rebounds. New Mexico transfer JT Toppin had arguably his best game of the season for Texas Tech, finishing with 20 points and 16 rebounds in 26 minutes.
Big 12 Standings
With the loss Arizona (11-6, 5-1) falls into second place in the Big 12, behind unbeaten Houston (6-0) and Iowa State (5-0). The Cyclones were trailing West Virginia at halftime of their game Saturday, and would fall into a second-place tie with Arizona if they lose.
Arizona has two winnable games ahead: at Oklahoma State on Tuesday and at homve vs. Colorado on Saturday. If they win both it will set up a game with Big 12 title implications vs. Iowa State on Jan. 27.
Arizona came into the game ranked No. 12 in the NCAA NET Rankings, and had a chance to jump much higher with a win over No. 19 Texas Tech. The Wildcats are now 3-5 in Quad 1 games, with many more Quad 1 opportunities still to come.
A Quad 1 game is a home matchup against a top 30 team in the NET, or a road game against a top 50 team in the NET. The NCAA NET Rankings are used as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
More Arizona & Big 12 Analysis
-029877d49238355bd3388a94f90e3c72.jpg "Ben Sherman")
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his 27-year journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. A basketball junkie, March Madness is his favorite time of the year.