The Duke basketball non-conference schedule is already loaded and now it will feature one of its biggest rivals.
Arizona’s Caleb Love announced on Wednesday afternoon that he would be withdrawing his name from consideration for the 2024 NBA Draft and returning to school for his final year of eligibility.
The former North Carolina point guard entered the transfer portal last offseason and initially committed to Michigan before an issue with his academic credits did not accept him into the school.
Love would eventually land with the Wildcats and return to Durham to play the Blue Devils in Cameron Indoor Stadium last season, but only scored 11 points and committed six turnovers on 3-of-10 shooting in the game.
OneLove…❤️ pic.twitter.com/8vnBWDgRGx
— Caleb Love (@caleb2love) May 29, 2024
However, it was Love who made his last four three throw attempts in the final 20 seconds, extending the Arizona lead to three points each time, and forced a Duke turnover with the Blue Devils trailing by a single possession in the final seconds.
He made sure to make his presence felt in Cameron after the final buzzer sounded.
Caleb Love waving to Duke fans👋😭 @caleb2love pic.twitter.com/h8qquwquR1
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) November 11, 2023
Caleb Love averaged 18.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.1 turnovers per game on 41.3-percent shooting, which were all career-best marks. He dished out 3.4 assists and made 33.2-percent of his shots from 3-point range.
He was named as the PAC-12 Player of the Year and an Associated Press Third Team All-American.
In his career against Duke, which spans eight games, he’s averaged 16.8 points per contest along with 3.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 3.3 turnovers on 39.3-percent shooting from the floor and 29.4-percent from 3-point range.
Duke will be visiting Tucson in the return game of its home-and-home series on November 21, which also serves as the beginning of a west coast trip for the Blue Devils with a matchup with Kansas in Las Vegas on November 26.
