Caleb Love leads Arizona past Oregon 87-83 to set up a showdown with Duke in March Madness

SEATTLE (AP) — Caleb Love had 29 points and nine rebounds, and fourth-seeded Arizona advanced to the Sweet 16, surviving a ragged finish to beat former Pac-12 rival Oregon 87-83 on Sunday night in the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats (24-12) will face top-seeded Duke in the East Region semifinals in Newark, New Jersey. Three years ago, Love starred for North Carolina in a Final Four victory over the Blue Devils that sent Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski into retirement.

Tobe Awaka added 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Wildcats, who had never faced the Ducks in the tournament. Arizona also made the Sweet 16 last year, losing to Clemson.

Jackson Shelstad had 25 points for fifth-seeded Oregon (25-10), which led by 15 points just over five minutes into the game. TJ Bamba had 17.

“Us going down early, we never panicked, we never altered anything,” Love said. “I just think we were so poised throughout the whole game. Nobody was worried about anything but finishing up the game and winning the game.”

Love’s emphatic dunk with 2:37 left put Arizona in front 77-70. Oregon narrowed the gap on Keeshawn Barthelemy’s 3-pointer before Nate Bittle’s hook shot got the Ducks within 80-78 with 49.2 seconds left.

Oregon pressured, and Shelstad's driving layup got the Ducks within 81-80 with 10 seconds left. Anthony Dell'Orso and Shelstad traded free throws, keeping the Ducks within a point. Dell'Orso hit another pair, but Shelstad missed one of his in the waning seconds and the Wildcats held on.

Oregon was hurt by making only 12 of its 22 free-throw attempts.

“We put ourselves in a position to maybe make a comeback," Ducks coach Dana Altman said. “I was talking to the guys and we’ve played 30-some games and this is the first one this year that we’ve lost on the line.”

After Oregon took an early 19-4 lead, the Wildcats went on a 13-2 run to close the gap to 26-23 midway through the first half. Arizona went ahead 32-31 on Jaden Bradley's layup with 4:45 left in the half and went into the break up 42-38.

After Dell'Orso hit a 3-pointer that made it 54-43, he turned to the Wildcats' fans and yanked at the “Arizona” on the front of his jersey in celebration.

“We’ve really been talking about this, kind of developing — I don’t want to say unemotional, but a real steady approach. Zero-zero score, so what, now what mentality. These executed it to perfection today,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said.

The Ducks have advanced to the second round in each of their nine March Madness appearances in 15 years under Altman, but they haven't reached the Sweet 16 since 2021.

Pac-12 demise

Just three former Pac-12 teams made this year’s tournament field, and Arizona is the only one left. UCLA lost to Tennessee in the second round.

The Pac-12 collapsed in the summer of 2023, when Oregon and Washington bolted for the Big Ten, joining USC and UCLA, and Arizona went to the Big 12 with Colorado, Arizona State and Utah.

The remaining Pac-12 members, Washington State and Oregon State, are rebuilding the conference, which is set to launch in the 2026-27 season. The retooled Pac-12 will include Gonzaga and Colorado State, which both made the field this year.

The last time

Arizona won the national title in 1997 under Lute Olson, defeating defending champion Kentucky with a roster that included Mike Bibby and Jason Terry. The Wildcats were runners-up to Duke in 2001.

Oregon won the championship once, back in 1939. That team was known as the Tall Firs — a nod to the Oregon landscape and the fact that the players loomed taller than most of their opponents.

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