As we catch our breath from the fast-paced start to the NCAA Tournament, the field has thinned down to 16 teams as they continue to fight for the title. Taking a part in the later slate of the Thursday games, top-seeded Duke will face off with Arizona and perhaps the man they want to see least on this stage- Caleb Love.
After spending the first three seasons of his college career at North Carolina, Caleb Love transferred to Arizona and has picked up where he left off from a production standpoint. This season he is averaging 16.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game and shooting 33.6% from beyond the three-point line. He exploded for 29 points in the previous round against Oregon shooting 5-for-7 on three-point attempts and this will mark the 10th and final matchup of his career against Duke. Love hit a dagger three-pointer against the Blue Devils back in 2021-22 in the Final Four to send Duke home and put an end to Mike Krzyzewski’s coaching career. He now has the chance to send his former rivals packing once again.
Duke enters the matchup as a 9.5-point favorite and -520 on the Moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. Arizona holds +390 odds of an upset on the Moneyline with the game total set at 154.5.
Ahead of Thursday’s showdown, here is my favorite Caleb Love player prop bet to place on DraftKings Sportsbook.
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Best Caleb Love prop bet for Saturday
If one thing has become clear about Caleb Love in his five years of college basketball, if he is going down he will be going down swinging. The Arizona standout can shoot you in or out of a game and was only held to less than 10 field goal attempts in three games this season with these each coming in blowout victories in the Wildcats’ favor. He is averaging 16.8 points per game, below the 18.0 points per game he produced last year. Even still, he has recorded 20+ points in 13 games this season.
Duke has had a dominant season on both sides of the ball. They rank 12th in the country in scoring, averaging 83.2 points per game, and hold opponents to 61.7 points per game which is the sixth-best rate in the country. They have won their pair of NCAA Tournament games over Mount Saint Mary’s and Baylor by a combined score of 182-115. Arizona will be their first true test of the tournament and Duke has lost just three games all year.
While my belief in Arizona pulling off the upset is a different conversation, I do like Caleb Love to be locked in and leading the charge. Across his nine matchups with Duke in his career, Love is averaging 15.8 points per game. He has scored as many as 28 points against the program and this will be his third time facing them while playing for Arizona.
What version of Caleb Love the Wildcats get directly impacts their outlook in the game. The star guard has played at a high level of late and has said all the right things publically when asked about this matchup. But Arizona is too dependent on his production for Love not to be fully unleashed. He is a big game player who isn’t afraid of the moment and will be called upon in this matchup. Love attempted 18 shots in the previous game against Oregon and expect a similar output in this round.
In what could very well be the last time Caleb Love touches a college basketball court, look for him to be prepared to leave it all on the floor. Count on him recording 20+ points scored for the 14th time this season and the fourth time against Duke by taking advantage of the +130 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Best Bet: Caleb Love to Record 20+ Points (+130)
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