RJ Davis and Caleb Love – NCAA Season Ends for the 2 in Dismay and Disappointment With Sweet 16 Exit

Two superstars of the men’s college basketball world, RJ Davis and Caleb Love, are out of their tournament runs much earlier than anyone expected. But how did it all end so quickly for them? With March Madness entering its final stages, the epic wins also bring upsetting losses and disappointments. Something similar happened for the two drifted friends who created their name in the basketball world in Chapel Hill. Love, the 6’4″ guard who transferred to the Arizona Wildcats from UNC, and Davis, the star attraction of the Tar Heels were knocked out of the NCAA DI men’s college basketball tournament in one night.

What was even more surprising was that both the exceptional players had the worst nights of their year tonight. And against the teams that they needed to kick out. In their respective upset losses tonight, that would have put the two face-to-face for an on-court battle, Arizona (2) lost to Clemson (6) and UNC (1) lost to Alabama (4). Let us look at how these two essential lifeboats of their teams became a vessel for defeat tonight.

RJ Davis fails the Tar Heels

While it was not going to be a big deal for the 2022 NCAA runners-up to enter yet another Elite 8 round, it surely held significance in the single-knockout format. Apparently, the ACC Player of the Year had something more to prove than letting his team have one. With a disappointing game tonight where he shot just 20% from the field, Davis may have failed North Carolina. He was one of the key players, if not the one, to get the number one seed for his team with impressive performances throughout the regular season.

However, tonight, he brought in an uncharacteristic front for the Crypto.com Arena spectators. He grabbed 16 points for the team. But he missed 16 of 20 shots overall and went 0 of 9 from beyond the arc. In fact, in a surprising turn of events, this was the first time this year that the player with the most threes made for UNC in three seasons did not make any buckets from beyond the arc. His out-of-form face was clearly evident in the very opening minutes of the game as he missed open 3-pointers. These deep shots could have turned the tables around for UNC, as Alabama only won by 2 points.

Watching the 11th-in-nation best scorer and shooter not being able to take shots gave the Crimson Tide a boost. Further, the entire Tar Heels roster only heaped the confidence in Alabama as they missed 30 of 40 shots tonight in the second half. Additionally, the 4th-seed opponent’s Grant Nelson took over the field in the final 5 minutes of the game. He scored 12 of his 24 points in just that time.

Clearly, tonight was not the best night for RJ Davis to have a bad game. Overall, he only brought half of his season field goal accuracy and shot 0% from beyond the arc, and bagged 16 points, with 8 coming from the free-throw line. By leaving the March Madness, the Tar Heels become the first one-seed team to go out of the tournament. On the other end, things were not working out for Davis’ former teammate Caleb Love either.

Caleb Love had a rollercoaster night

The Wildcats had some terrible shooting performances overall tonight. Their offensive struggles were apparent as they hit less than 38%, a season-worst, and 18% from beyond the arc tonight. Caleb Love did manage to score 13 points tonight with a 27.8% efficiency. However, he could not convert any of his 9 attempts from deep. While the Wildcats were 8 points behind as they entered the second half, their red-hot form bagged 7 points in just the starting 49 seconds. However, they only kept it up for so long as Clemson regained their gears.

By the end with 14:32 remaining, the Pac-12 POY helped take the first lead with a layup. However, the lead only stayed for 20 seconds. Arizona clearly had a rough time tonight as they struggled to force turnovers on one end and make buckets on another. It was also very clear that they were having turnover troubles. They picked 8 turnovers in the first half, which equaled 11 points for the Tigers. On top of that, Clemson only had 12 hours of rest until tonight. On the other hand, Arizona had two days at home. Nonetheless, their performance tonight did not look like they were well-rested at all. The senior guard ended the night with 13 points, 2 steals, 1 assist, and 2 boards.

It was not the best night nor the best game for both Caleb Love and RJ Davis. Nevertheless, concluding that they were the only ones to make an impact on the floor is a little too harsh. Neither of the two experienced players has committed to the NBA draft for the upcoming season, meaning they could return to college and avenge their losses. But until then, they will have to do with the defeat.

Read More: Grant Nelson Outclasses RJ Davis – Alabama Muscle North Carolina Out of Sweet 16 in Another Upset