LOS ANGELES — Some NCAA Tournament storylines feel almost too perfect, like a rejuvenated transfer facing his former team with a berth in the Final Four at stake.
But as 2023-24 Pac-12 Player of the Year and All-American Caleb Love and his current, Arizona teammates exited the Crypto.com Arena floor on Thursday in Los Angeles, moments before Love’s old team, North Carolina, began warm-ups, the one constant theme that makes March mad denied the West Regional a readymade drama.
On this one day, Clemson was the better team than UA. And all any team needs is to be better for one 40-minute stretch.
Cliché, maybe, but Tigers coach Brad Brownell summarized it best: “It’s anything that can happen in these tournaments.”
The song is not called “Best-of-Seven Shining Moment,” after all.
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Caught up in his own team’s moment — a 77-72 Sweet 16 win over the favored Wildcats — and the heroics of guard Chase Hunter, Clemson big man PJ Hall made a bold proclamation.
Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) goes face-to-face with Clemson guard Chase Hunter (1) on a drive toward the bucket in the second half of the teams' Sweet 16 matchup Thursday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
“Chase Hunter is the best two-way guard in America now,” Hall said. “You need to figure that out.”
Hunter came into the NCAA Tournament having reached the 20-point threshold once all season — scoring exactly 20 in a Valentine’s Day win over Miami — and posting 18 points or more four times in total.
Hunter’s three 18-point games were against Alcorn State and twice against Atlantic Coast Conference cellar-dwelling Georgia Tech.
In his three tournament games, however, Hunter went for 21 points in an opening-round defeat of New Mexico and 20 in the second round against Baylor.
With his successfully converted and-one play with 25.7 seconds remaining in the Sweet 16, which effectively sealed Clemson’s win, Hunter reached 18 points.
The Tigers guard shot 8 of 15 from the floor — 8 of 10 inside the 3-point arc — grabbed seven rebounds and dished five assists. He was the player Clemson leaned on in the clutch, much like UA leaned on Love throughout the season.
Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) charges past Clemson center PJ Hall (24) to get to the basket in the first half of the Wildcats' Sweet 16 loss to the Tigers on Thursday in Los Angeles.
As Hunter’s confidence brimmed, he suggested Love’s was affected after a poor start that eventually progressed into a 0-of-9 performance from 3-point range.
“I was just missing shots. A lot of them were open,” Love told the Daily Star. “I was getting downhill. When I did get downhill, good things happened.”
Love scored nine of his 13 points in the second half, and in getting to the free-throw line for three free-throw attempts, helped draw personal fouls on Hall and Ian Schieffelin.
“They were just putting their head down and driving and trying to get fouls,” Brownell said of UA rallying in the second half. “And our frontline was falling apart with fouls.”
The Clemson coach responded by pulling his defense to zone, which resulted in open looks from deep that fell almost 37% of the time for the season.
Only 17.9% fell in the Sweet 16.
“I probably should have did that a lot more today,” Love added of attacking the rim. “I just put it on me. I felt like the shots were good shots, but obviously, they didn’t go for me.”
Arizona guard Caleb Love stretches out to pressure Clemson forward Jack Clark in the second half Thursday in Los Angeles.
For much of the season, Love’s shots did go. He earned his All-American selection and goes down as the final Pac-12 Player of the Year in history with the conference’s disintegration having averaged 18.1 points per game.
He scored 20-plus points 14 times in the regular season, peaking with 36 against Oregon.
And, for the first two games of the NCAA Tournament, Love was right around his season-long production with 18 points in the first round against Long Beach State; and 19 points against Dayton.
The two double-digit-point wins reflected a usual, season-long trend for UA: As Love went, so went the Wildcats.
In winning 27 games and the last Pac-12 championship, and being – as coach Tommy Lloyd deemed it — a team capable of reaching the Final Four, going the way of Love typically had positive results.
The opposite also proved true on a few occasions, Thursday’s marking the third in the month of March after Love shot a combined 1 of 13 from 3-point distance in losses to USC and Oregon.
Had the Wildcats moved on and faced that readymade drama with UNC, it was going to do so with Love as the main character.
“They’re incredible guys,” Lloyd said of Love and fellow grad transfer Keshad Johnson, who grabbed 11 rebounds in the Sweet 16 loss. “I’m so thankful that they took a chance on coming to Arizona and playing for our staff. It was an incredible experience, all offseason and season long.”
Clemson held off Arizona in the second half to advance to the Elite Eight of the 2024 men’s NCAA tournament. Watch the extended highlights from the Tiger’s Sweet 16 win here. (March Madness YouTube)
Photos: Arizona goes down 77-72 to Clemson, NCAA Tournament West Region Sweet 16
Arizona guard Jaden Bradley (0) walks off the court as the Clemson Tigers celebrate their 77-72 upset win of the second-seeded Wildcats in their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Clemson head coach Brad Brownell hugged Clemson guard Chase Hunter (1) after their Tigers upset Arizona 77-72 in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Clemson center PJ Hall (24) gestures to the bench after slamming home a dunk late in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game against Arizona in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona forward Keshad Johnson (16) thinks Clemson center PJ Hall (24) had a three second violation, but it ended up being a foul on Johnson in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Jaden Bradley (0) comes in to claw away a shot from Clemson center PJ Hall (24) in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Clemson head coach Brad Brownell, right, and the bench can’t believe the call was against them in a tense second half against Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Jaden Bradley (0) draws a foul on his drive against Clemson forward RJ Godfrey (10) in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) stuffs a shot from Clemson forward RJ Godfrey (10) in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) gets blocked from behind by Clemson forward Ian Schieffelin (4) in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd pleads his case after a foul in the second half against Clemson in their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona forward Keshad Johnson (16) surges above a trio of Clemson defenders in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Clemson center PJ Hall (24) crashes down atop Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) trying to block his put-back attempt in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Clemson center PJ Hall (24), left, and guard Joseph Girard III (11) swarm Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) in the paint in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Jaden Bradley lets go a roar after drawing a foul on his basket against Clemson in the first half of their Sweet 16 game,
Arizona center Motiejus Krivas (14) gets away with hit on the arm stopping Clemson guard Chase Hunter’s (1)shot in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Clemson center PJ Hall (24) ties up Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) and keeps him from getting a lob into the paint in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) charges past Clemson center PJ Hall (24) and to the basket in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Clemson forward RJ Godfrey (10) strips Arizona guard Jaden Bradley (0) of the ball in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard KJ Lewis (5) is fraction late to keep Clemson forward Chauncey Wiggins (21) from gathering in a swing pass in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard KJ Lewis (5) scores on a dunk against Clemson in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona forward Keshad Johnson (16) dunks against Clemson during a Wildcat flurry in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard KJ Lewis (5) pokes the ball away from Clemson forward Ian Schieffelin (4) for a steal in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) stretches out to pressure Clemson forward Jack Clark (5) in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) scores on an unopposed dunk against Clemson in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona forward Keshad Johnson (16) tries to get the Wildcat crowd into the game during a run against Clemson in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Pelle Larsson (3) and forward Keshad Johnson (16) bat a loose ball out of the lane in the second half aginst Clemson during their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Clemson forward Jack Clark (5) takes a swipe at Arizona guard Jaden Bradley (0) while trying to keep him from the basket in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) goes face-to-face with Clemson guard Chase Hunter (1) on a drive in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) throws an arm around Clemson forward Ian Schieffelin (4) late in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd talks to the Wildcats during a timeout in the final minute and trailing Clemson in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Grant Weitman (15) and the Wildcat bench ride out the last few minutes of their 77-72 loss to Clemson in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday in Los Angeles.
Clemson guard Chase Hunter (1) picks the pass right out of the hands of Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard Pelle Larsson (3) gets stripped by Clemson guard Joseph Girard III (11) on a drive in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard KJ Lewis (5) gets fouled by Clemson guard Dillon Hunter (2) on his attempt to get into the lane in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona guard KJ Lewis (5) picks up a personal foul defending Clemson guard Dillon Hunter (2) in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd, the Wildcat bench and fans can’t believe the ball is called out on them on a Keshad Johnson (16) strip against Clemson in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) gets tangled in the net going after a shot under the basket from Clemson forward Ian Schieffelin (4) in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
Clemson forward Ian Schieffelin (4) rises up to swat away a shot from Arizona guard Caleb Love (2) in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
The celebrating crowd and Clemson players surround Arizona guard Caleb Love after the Wildcats gave up a basket and a foul late in the second half of their Sweet 16 game in the NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles on March 28, 2024.
Clemson head coach Brad Brownell, his staff and bench try to get the defense set to face a Wildcat possession late in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen game against Arizona in the NCAA Tournament, Los Angeles, Calif., March 28, 2024.
