Caleb Love was unstoppable for the Arizona Wildcats in their second round win over Oregon on Sunday night to close the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Hopefully he left some gas in the tank because the Wildcats are going to need a whole lot of that and more from Love in their Sweet 16 clash.
The Wildcats grabbed two strong wins, knocking out a good Akron team in the first round before beating No. 5 seed Oregon on Sunday. Love has been key for the Wildcats during their first two wins. Against Akron, he scored just 10 points with seven rebounds and five assists, though he played just 25 minutes in the lopsided win.
Against Oregon, Love dominated from start to finish, logging 37 minutes and scoring a game-high 29 points with nine rebounds and four assists in the 87-83 win. As Arizona prepares for their second straight Sweet 16 game later this week, here’s who they’ll face.
Who do the Arizona Wildcats play next in the Sweet 16?
The Wildcats will have Duke in the Sweet 16 and it won’t be an easy task. The Blue Devils are led by consensus No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, Cooper Flagg. In the first two games, Flagg is averaging 16 points per game.
Aside from Flagg, however, the Blue Devils have had several players step up as well, including Kon Kneuppel and Tyrese Proctor. It will be a big ask for an Arizona team that barely cracks the top 30 in defensive rating, per KenPom rankings.
Duke might be the best team in the field at this point. They haven’t had any issues with any team they’ve faced and look virtually unbeatable. They look stronger than both Auburn and Florida right now.
If you’re Arizona, Duke is the last team you want to face if you’re looking to advance to the Elite Eight. The good thing is the Wildcats will have more than a day to prepare for the matchup, which will give them time to rest as well as game plan for the multiple weapons Duke puts on the floor.
When was the last time Arizona advanced to the Elite Eight?
Arizona is hungry to win a Sweet 16 game. In the last decade, their only Elite Eight appearance was in 2015. For context, they’ve reached the Sweet 16 five times during that time. This is their second straight NCAA Tournament run to the second weekend of March Madness.
Their opponent, Duke, is very familiar with the Elite Eight. Since 2015, the Blue Devils have reached the Elite Eight five times and are looking for their second straight Elite Eight appearance.