Caleb Love downplays fatigue in Indiana loss

North Carolina has been all over the country early in the season, playing three games in four days in Portland for PK85. Sunday was a four-overtime game against Alabama, which the Tar Heels ended up on the losing side of. Players were exhausted after the matchup, with somebody like Caleb Love playing nearly 60 minutes before flying home.

Unfortunately, there are no breaks in college basketball as UNC was back on the road Wednesday. Indiana was the opponent at Assembly Hall for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Losing a game where the score was closer than the game indicated, Love was asked if fatigue played a factor.

“I don’t think that was a factor,” Love said. “We got great trainers that take care of our bodies. Make sure we’re ready for each and every game. It wasn’t a factor. We just got to come out and be tougher.”

Love was on the court for 57 minutes on Friday against Alabama, playing through a grueling four-overtime matchup. He ended up with 34 points on 13 of 36 shooting while adding nine rebounds to the stat sheet. A ton of shots with those type of minutes will put a strain on anybody in the country, especially with a road game next up on the schedule.

Against Indiana, Love played for the majority of the game as well, being on the floor for 33 minutes. He did not have as good of an offensive night, shooting just over 31% with 13 points. North Carolina as a whole looked less energetic than Indiana.

Assembly Hall definitely played a role but coming from Portland certainly cannot help.

Either way, Love is not going to let tiredness be an excuse for poor performance. North Carolina expects to maintain the play they picked up in the month of March last season, steamrolling their way to a national championship appearance.

Bringing the same nucleus back brought high expectations, entering PK85 as the No. 1 team in the country. Wednesday’s loss marked the third in a row, with Iowa State and Alabama being the other two. Things are not going to plan in Chapel Hill.

Unfortunately, there is not much of a break coming up. ACC play will begin on Sunday against Virginia Tech and then Georgia Tech will follow just under a week later. Love will be trying to rest the legs between those times as some kind of turnaround is needed for Hubert Davis in Year Two.