Caleb Love reveals what he changed at halftime of UCLA win
When a player goes for 27 points in one half in an NCAA Tournament game, typically a shift in mindset and level of determination can sway a performance one way or another. For Caleb Love, who scored 30 points Friday night in North Carolina‘s 73-66 Sweet 16 victory over UCLA — it was a more physical attribute that Love tweaked that made all the difference.
“Hoots told me to change them because I never play good in the black shoes, so he told me to change them, and it worked out,” Love said.
He traded his black high top Jordans 11’s in for a pair another pair of the same shoe, this time in Carolina Blue. Tar Heels Director of Operations Eric Hoots seems to know what he was talking about.
North Carolina went into the locker room trailing the Bruins 31-28. Love’s lone three points at the time came from a made 3-point try in the game’s first minute. The sophomore guard scored the first bucket for the Tar Heels within 30 seconds of the second half’s start and never looked back. Free throws from Love with eight seconds remaining put the game out of reach for UCLA to clench the Regional Championship berth.
While those plays were pivotal for getting Love going and sealing the deal, what he did in the final two minutes of regulation will be remembered by Tar Heel fans for years to come. With his team trailing 64-61 with about 1:30 left to play in the Sweet Sixteen, Love drilled a 3-pointer to tie the game. One possession later after hitting that shot, Love drained another trey from deep to give North Carolina a 67-64 lead with less than a minute to go.
Love is averaging 19.3 points per game on a 40 percent (18-45) field goal clip while making 43 percent (13-30) of his 3-point attempts. Despite scoring just five in UNC’s upset win over top-seeded Baylor, Love has scored 20-plus against Marquette and now UCLA.
While Love and North Carolina are one of the hottest teams still alive in this year’s NCAA Tournament, they’re going to have to go through the Cinderella of all Cinderellas in Saint Peter’s to make the Final Four. The Tar Heels and Peacocks are set to tip off on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. ET live on CBS. The winner will face either Arkansas or Duke in the Final Four in New Orleans.