Matchups for the 16 games in the conference this week.

If Caleb Love ever needed a career-defining moment at Arizona, he got it in the Wildcats’ upset win over third-ranked Iowa State Monday night at McKale Center.

With 2.2 seconds left in regulation, Love took the inbounds pass, dribbled once and rhythmically crossed over into a 60-foot prayer. Canned it with no time to spare.

Love’s late-game heroics tied the game 71-71, and the Wildcats went on to win 86-75.

The Wildcats have been on the other side of buzzer-beating shots, including Arizona State’s Desmond Cambridge’s 60-footer against the Wildcats in 2023, Washington guard Isaiah Thomas’ game-winner in the 2011 Pac-10 Tournament or even “The Shot” by Stanford’s Nick Robinson with Tiger Woods sitting courtside in 2004.

Love joined a pantheon of Arizona basketball players to make buzzer-beaters.

Here’s a look at some memorable buzzer-beaters in UA basketball history. The caveat: The shots have to be true buzzer-beaters with no time left on the clock. Even though Salim Stoudamire had several clutch moments in 2005, and Derrick Williams and Nick Johnson had game-saving blocks to lift Arizona to victories, they didn’t crack the list since there was still time left.

Elliott lifts UA over Kansas State

When: Dec. 19, 1973

Where: McKale Center

What happened: In a Top 15 matchup between No. 14 Arizona and No. 13 Kansas State, when the UA was coached by Fred Snowden and McKale Center wasn’t even a year old, forward Bob Elliott heaved a 35-foot shot at the buzzer to beat Kansas State 74-72.

Smith helps Wildcats sweep Sun Devils

When: Feb. 17, 1984

Where: University Activity Center (Tempe, Arizona)

What happened: In Lute Olson’s first season as head coach of the Wildcats, Arizona swept arch-rival ASU. Before that season, Arizona lost nine straight games to the Sun Devils — and 11 of the previous 12. After Eddie Smith’s buzzer-beater in ‘84 to win 65-64, the Wildcats won 29 of the next 34 games against ASU.

Craig McMillan could dunk, but it was his layup in 1986 that became known as the “McShot.”

‘McMiracle’

When: Jan. 23, 1986

Where: McKale Center

What happened: Oregon State was closing in on a 62-61 win, but Arizona guard Steve Kerr launched a pass — a play called “home run” — the length of the court, which deflected off forward Anthony Cook’s hand and was picked up by Craig McMillan, who hit the game-winning shot, giving the Wildcats their first Pac-10 championship. McMillan’s heroics were coined “McMiracle,” “McClutch” and “McShot at McKale.”

Mills forces OT at UCLA

When: Feb. 10, 1991

Where: Pauley Pavilion (Westwood, California)

What happened: Arizona forward and Los Angeles native Chris Mills sunk a buzzer-beating jumper to force overtime, before the fifth-ranked Wildcats outlasted No. 14 UCLA 105-94. Arizona big Brian Williams, who later changed his name to Bison Dele and won an NBA championship with the Chicago Bulls in 1997, was 14 for 15 from the field and had 32 points and 14 rebounds.

Reeves’ layup boosts UA over Stanford

When: Feb. 6, 1992

Where: Maples Pavilion (Palo Alto, California)

What happened: After Stanford’s Adam Keefe made just one of two free-throws with a few seconds remaining, Arizona guard Khalid Reeves bursted down the court for a game-winning layup to help No. 7 Arizona beat Stanford 72-70 on the road.

‘Do you believe in miracles?’

When: Feb. 11, 1996

Where: Memorial Coliseum (Phoenix)

What happened: After Arizona guard Reggie Geary’s tying shot with 14 seconds left in the game, the Wildcats and Cincinnati were locked at 76-76 at the 7-Up Shootout in Phoenix until UA guard Miles Simon, who was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player the following season in 1997, grabbed a loose ball and heaved a 65-foot shot and banked it in for the 79-76 win. The ABC broadcasters said after Simon’s buzzer-beater, “Do you believe in miracles? â€Ļ Back at Dirtbag’s in Tucson, they are going crazy.” The win marked Olson's 500th career victory as a head coach. 

Richard Jefferson makes a pass to Michael Wright late in the first half of the game against the Washington Huskies on Jan. 9, 1999, at McKale Center.

Jefferson recovers JET’s air-ball

When: Jan. 9, 1999

Where: McKale Center

What happened: Moments before Kerr had his jersey retired at Arizona, the eighth-ranked Wildcats squeaked by Washington with an 88-86 win. Arizona guard Jason Terry, who had a career-high 30 points and nine assists, struggled to get a shot off over UW’s Donald Watts. Terry air-balled the shot, but freshman forward Richard Jefferson grabbed the ball and scored for the final basket to complete the 14-point comeback. Said Terry: “I just threw it up, hoping that it was going to either go in or someone would put it in. If it was an assist, it had to be the greatest assist of my life.”

The confidence of MoMo Jones showed when he hit the game-winning shot to beat Stanford on the road in 2010. 

MoMo Jones stuns Stanford

When: Feb. 28, 2010

Where: Maples Pavilion (Palo Alto, California)

What happened: Tied 69-69, Arizona forward and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Derrick Williams blocked Jake Trotter’s potential game-winning dunk. Arizona guard Brendon Lavender passed the loose ball to Lamont “MoMo” Jones, who stopped at the top of the key to bank in the shot to win 71-69. The win snapped a three-game skid in head coach Sean Miller’s first season at the UA.

Doutrive’s putback secures W

When: March 1, 2019

Where: Gill Coliseum (Corvallis, Oregon)

What happened: In a forgettable season of the Miller era at Arizona, a year after the Wildcats lost to Buffalo in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the UA didn’t have much to celebrate in the 2018-19 season, but freshman guard Devonaire Doutrive was the hero in one of the wins. Arizona point guard Justin Coleman missed a turnaround shot, but a cutting Doutrive wasn’t boxed out and the freshman tipped the missed shot in to help Arizona beat Oregon State 74-72.

Arizona forward Azuolas Tubelis (10) gets congratulated by associate head coach Jack Murphy and assistant coach Jason Terry after his work at both ends of the floor gave the Wildcats a literal last-second 84-82 win against Arizona State in the second half of their Pac 12 game at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe on Jan. 21, 2021.

Tubelis downs Devils

When: Jan. 21, 2021

Where: Desert Financial Arena (Tempe)

What happened: Even though Arizona took a self-imposed postseason ban for its NCAA infractions case that stemmed from a federal investigation, the Wildcats had a few highlights in the pandemic-influenced season, including forward Azuolas Tubelis’ tip-in basket to beat ASU 84-82. Arizona point guard James Akinjo appeared to attempt the game-winning shot, but insisted it was a pass to Tubelis. Said Miller: “If it was a pass, it was one heck of a pass. If it was a shot, it was still one heck of a pass.” Added Akinjo: “It was a lob. An alley-oop to Azuolas.”

From Tucson, with Love

When: Monday, Jan. 27, 2025

Where: McKale Center

What happened: Even though Love shot 8 for 22 (36%) from the field, the most important make of the night gave the Wildcats an extra period to win a signature game in the program’s first year in the Big 12. The triumph marked Arizona’s first win over a Top 5 team as an unranked opponent at McKale since 1979. Said Love: “Best moment of my life.”

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Contact Justin Spears, the Star’s Arizona football beat reporter, at jspears@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @JustinESports