Arizona stuns Iowa State after Caleb Love's miraculous shot: 3 takeaways
If the Arizona Wildcats want to make a deep postseason run — or any postseason run at all — Caleb Love is going to have to play better.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said it last week, and it rang true Monday night.
In a nationally-televised game with Big 12 championship and NCAA tournament implications, Iowa State had Arizona on the ropes in the McKale Center. The Cyclones led by three points with 2.2 seconds left and appeared to be headed back to Ames with an Arizona sweep.
To that point in the game, Love was 5-of-18 from the field and 1-of-11 from the 3-point line.
Then Love erased 39 minutes and 58 seconds of frustration with a miraculous shot.
After Iowa State's Joshua Jefferson made 1-of-2 free throws to give the Cyclones a 71-68 lead with 2.2 seconds left in the game, Love took an inbounds pass from Anthony Dell'Orso, dribbled twice and launched a shot from well beyond halfcourt just before the buzzer.
Bang. Iowa State 71, Arizona 71.
FROM CALEB WITH LOVE
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) January 28, 2025
😱😱😱😱😱 pic.twitter.com/Bzvues3Yfw
In overtime, Love poured it on. He drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to give Arizona a 6-point lead, then iced the game with two free throws as Arizona pulled out an improbable 86-75 victory.
Tommy Lloyd's Prophetic Words
When Lloyd was asked about Love's recent shooting woes last week, he had a blunt assessment. And his words proved prophetic.
"Caleb's a good player. He's got to start playing better," Lloyd said last week. "A couple of games ago he had 33 points, eight assists, five rebounds ... one of the only guys ever to do it in college basketball. So he's just got to play better."
"He'll find his way. We're going to hang with him, and I know it's not coming easy sometimes for him, but he's a good player and he'll play better. He'll play better for sure."
Big 12 Title Implications
The win moves Arizona (14-6, 8-1) into sole possession of second place in the Big 12, one game ahead of Iowa State (17-3, 7-2).
More importantly, it was Arizona's fourth Quadrant 1 victory of the season, which should vault the Wildcats into the top 10 of the NCAA NET Rankings. 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 Tournament Selection Committee places significant weight on Quad 1 wins, and it's one of the reasons Iowa State is projected to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Cyclones came into the game ranked No. 6 in the NET with a 6-2 record in Quad 1 games.
Tobe Awaka Dominates Paint
Love finished with 22 points, but Tobe Awaka was the real star for Arizona. The 6-foot-8 Tennessee transfer dominated the paint all game, racking up 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Arizona outrebounded Iowa State 40-39 and had 13 offensive rebounds, including 4 from Awaka. He came into the game as one of the leading offensive rebounders in the nation at 3.2 per game.
Awaka was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
Game Stats
Tamin Lipsey led Iowa State with 18 points and Keshon Gilbert added 17. Curtis Jones, who scored 33 points in the Cyclones win over Arizona State on Saturday, was held to just 8 points on 1-of-11 shooting.
Jefferson, the Saint Mary's (California) transfer, finished with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Senior center Dishon Jackson had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Five-star freshman Carter Bryant had another big game for Arizona, scoring 14 points and hitting 4-of-5 from downtown. KJ Lewis filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Jaden Bradley had 9 points, 7 steals, 6 assists and 5 rebounds.
The Wildcats finished with 13 steals and 17 fast break points.
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.