Hubert Davis addresses Caleb Love's shooting slump entering UNC-Duke game

UNC is gearing up for an important matchup at home against No. 9 Duke on Saturday. Ahead of the matchup, UNC head coach Hubert Davis talked about guard Caleb Love and what he has meant to the Tar Heels this season.

“Well Caleb has had a fantastic season,” Davis said of Love. “I’m just so proud of Caleb. The difference between him his freshman year and his sophomore year is drastic on both ends of the floor. He’s a guy that, from an offensive standpoint, can consistently create a shot at any point against anybody. I feel like his understanding of when to shoot and when to pass, when to distribute the right plays has gotten better and better every game.

“Defensively, he’s always excited about defending one of their top perimeter players. So I’ve been really happy with him defensively.”

As a true freshman last season, Love started 25 games, appearing in 29. He averaged 10.5 points per game, along with 3.6 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals.

Love is in a bit of a slump for UNC

Through 22 games this season, Love is second on UNC in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game. He is also averaging 3.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game. On the year, Love is shooting 28.6 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from three-point range.

Over recent games, Love has struggled a little bit when it comes to shooting from the field. In UNC’s back-to-back losses to Miami and Wake Forest, love shot a combined 5-27 from the field. He shot 5-14 against Virginia Tech, 5-17 against Boston College, and 6-16 against NC State. In UNC’s overtime win over Louisville, Love shot 3-18. The last time Love shot at least 40 percent from the field in a game was on January 15 against Georgia Tech.

Despite his recent cold spell shooting-wise, Davis still believes in Love as a key contributor for UNC.

“There’s more to the game than shooting the basketball,” added Davis. “There’s more to the game than percentages in particular games, and there’s more to the game than what happened last year. I’m very happy that Caleb Love is on North Carolina’s basketball team and I’m very happy he’ll be on the floor wearing a Carolina jersey on Saturday.”

Love played well in UNC’s two games against Duke last season. He scored 25 points in the first matchup last year, and added 18 points in the second matchup to end the regular season. The Tar Heels will be hoping for more of that kind of success on Saturday.