Caleb Love on facing Duke again in NCAA Tournament: 'I'm not afraid of anything'

Caleb Love is back in the Sweet 16, and he’s looking to win a national championship before his college basketball career comes to an end. If he’s going to get the job done with the Arizona Wildcats in 2025, he’s going to have to go through Duke once again.

Prior to his time in Tempe, Love famously played a huge role for North Carolina, putting the dagger in Duke’s Final Four run back in 2022, and ending the career of Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils are the opponent once again, but Love is suiting up with the Wildcats this time around. The Sweet 16 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey will be the cathedral.

Duke may arguably be the top team in the entire nation, and the No. 1-seed in the East Region. One thing is for sure, Love isn’t scared of the challenge, and he believes Arizona can get the job done. At least that’s his mindset heading into Thursday’s contest, and he has a good reason as to why that is.

“I just think that me not being afraid of the moment and me trying to impose my will, kind of like St. Louis swagger to the game. Me being from St. Louis, I’m not afraid of anything, anybody. I think just me channeling that, my inner St. Louis in me,” Love stated, speaking with the media ahead of the Sweet 16 showdown.

“But this Duke team does — they’re physical. They’re long. They’re athletic and things like that. We’ve got to play kind of mind games and things like that to create advantages for ourselves on both ends of the floor. We’ve got to match their physicality of the game, and I think we’ll have success if we do that.”

Even though Love is trying to minimize his history with the Blue Devils, this will be the 10th time he plays them in his college career. That’s no small number. Still, the guard is keeping the main thing the main thing, and declining to shy away from the pressure of the moment, the same way he has each time before.

“It’s the next game,” Love added. “I’m loving the guys that I’m going into battle with. We’ve been so locked in since we got here, since we found out we’ve got to play Duke.

“We’re not shying away from anything. We’re not running away from the fact that this is another game, and that this is a game that we have to win.”

Time will tell if Caleb Love can become public enemy No. 1 for Duke once again in the NCAA Tournament. Arizona will suit up against the Blue Devils on Thursday at 9:39 p.m. ET on CBS. It’ll certainly be a can’t-miss showdown in the Sweet 16.