During their evolution from a sub-.500 team in mid-December to the Big 12's second-place team, the Arizona Wildcats have learned to win without guard Caleb Love at his best.
But things are still much easier for them when he is. Especially when Love produces in the two-way manner he did Wednesday in UA’s 83-66 win over Utah at McKale Center.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd praises the defensive effort of Caleb Love, the primary defender on Utah’s leading scorer, Gabe Madsen, during Arizona’s 83-66 win on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025 at McKale Center.
Love had 23 points while hitting 6 of 11 3-pointers, the most 3s he has made in a game during his two seasons at Arizona, while also playing a key role defensively in limiting Utah’s Gabe Madsen.
The Utes’ leading scorer, Madsen had 10 points while making just 2 of 10 shots he took, all from 3-point range.
“Caleb obviously gives us a higher ceiling,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said, “and if he plays with that energy and focus at both ends of the floor, we’re a better team. Caleb was a standout tonight and other guys have been standouts on other days.”
As it turned out, Love’s play helped give the Wildcats a much-needed cushion against a determined opponent that was coping with Utah's decision to fire fourth-year coach Craig Smith on Monday.
The Utes had just 48 hours to process the change, which resulted in assistant coach Josh Eilert taking an interim head coaching role, put together a practice and make the trip from Salt Lake City to Tucson. They had just arrived back from UCF on Sunday night and heard the surprising news the next day.
"They didn't come here to play for me. They came here play for somebody else," Eilert said. "The situation they've had to deal with last couple days and how they responded is just as ultimate professionals. It just shows what kind of kids are representing this program and I'm really proud of them."
The unusual in-season firing of Smith even struck Lloyd so much that he said he called Smith before Wednesday’s game.
“It was just one guy calling another guy because he respects him,” Lloyd said. “I just wanted him to know - -hey, he's a great dude – sorry that that happened, and I hope he and his family are OK.”
Especially with that sort of seismic change, it was easy to imagine the Utes might just folded. They looked like they might early, with Arizona jumping out to its first double-digit lead, 21-11, just eight minutes into the game when Love hit his first a 3-pointer. The Wildcats were shooting 57.1% from the field at that point while scoring nine points off five Utah turnovers.
At halftime, Love already had 17 points while hitting 4 of 7 3-pointers to help Arizona take a 46-32 lead. The Wildcats shot 42.9% in the first half while scoring 17 points off nine Utah turnovers and taking 10 more free throws than the Utes. Arizona was 11 for 14 from the line while Utah hit 3 of 4 free throws.
"To win on the road, and especially at a place like this with against a team that really doesn't have any holes, you can't get down and turn the ball over and dig yourself that big a hole,” Eilert said. “So I'm proud of the resilience."
The Utes’ resilience surfaced mostly in the second half, during which UA took leads of up to 24 points but wasn't able to put Utah away until the final minute.
Love, who also had four rebounds and six assists, dished a half-court pass to Jaden Bradley, who made a breakaway layup to give UA a 75-56 lead with 5:23 left.
Arizona guard Caleb Love (1) celebrates his 20th point of the night, a three in front of the Wildcat bench, in the second half against Utah on Feb. 26.
But from there, Utah cut Arizona’s lead to just 14 points with 3:32 to go, and again entering the final two minutes. After Love missed a 3 with 1:45 left, Utah’s Mason Madsen hit a 3 to make it 77-66 with 1:26 left.
The Utes wound up shooting just 28.1% in the second half but only turned the ball over three times. They also held Arizona to just 39.3% shooting in part by throwing a triangle-and-two defense at the Wildcats that Lloyd referred to as a "curveball."
“It’s just their resiliency,” Eilert said. “We pinpointed several things before the game and the number one thing was take care of the basketball.”
Utah interim head coach Josh Eilert pleads his case to one of the game officials in the second half of their Big 12 game against Arizona on Feb. 26, 2025, at McKale Center.
Still, the Wildcats never let their lead shrink to single digits. UA forward Henri Veesaar hit a 3-pointer with 1:03 left and the Wildcats went into the final minute with a 14-point lead.
That prompted UA coach Tommy Lloyd to begin inserting walkons, with fifth-year senior Grant Weitman hitting a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left, delighting fans and teammates alike.
“Personally, Grant is one of my favorite human beings beyond basketball and all that,” said UA center Tobe Awaka, who added his eighth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds “During practice, he's such a killer, doing what he does, and then just to see him showcase that tonight at the end of the game, it was really fun.”
The win moved Arizona to 19-9 and 13-4 in the Big 12, where they are in second place and three games behind Houston with three to go. Utah dropped to 15-13 and 7-10.
Even though the Wildcats' win also pulled them away from a stretch in which they lost three of four games, including a 96-95 upset loss to BYU on Saturday, their stretch ahead includes a game Saturday at Iowa State, a home finale on March 4 against ASU and a regular-season finale at Kansas on March 8.
“It's nice to get a win and maybe have it be a little bit more comfortable,” Lloyd said. “But we're not asking for things to be comfortable, because I know Saturday, it's going to be very uncomfortable. So we better be comfortable in an uncomfortable environment.
“For the rest of the season, I think that's just kind of how it's going to be. I thank the Big 12 for that. I honestly do in a good way. Not that we didn't have stress in the Pac 12, but we've had a good stretch of (tough games) here, and I think we're going to be better for it in the long run.”
