LUCAS: THE SAVE...
PHILADELPHIA—This was the game when Caleb Love had 30.
That will be the way we remember it a year or a decade from now. The Caleb Lovegame. I would just like to remind you of Caleb Love's first half line from Friday night's win over UCLA:
1-for-8 from the field. 1-for-4 from the three-point line. Three assists. No turnovers.
At this point, Carolina was down by three points and Love had not made a two-point field goal in the entire NCAA Tournament. Does this particularly sound like a player who is about to have 20 of the greatest minutes in Tar Heel postseason history?
But that's what happened, the latest improbably exhilarating twist on a postseason run that now features a sentence there is no way you would have believed a year ago, a month ago, a week ago, or maybe even an hour ago:
Carolina is playing Saint Peter's for a spot in the Final Four.
So without a doubt, this was the Caleb Love Game, and please let history reflect that this game was generated by two things: 1. Eric Hoots forcing Love to change from the black Jordans to the Carolina blue Jordans at halftime. "Caleb, you are one for eight," Hoots said, and I may be leaving out a colorful descriptive word or two. Then he glared at the black shoes. Love got the message. 2. Hubert Davisencouraging Love to start his offense going towards the basket instead of away from the basket, which Love did on Carolina's very first possession of the second half, when he drove and converted his first two-point basket of the NCAA Tournament.
It can be your personal preference about which factor you believe was bigger.
But I am going to tell you something: we don't get to have the Caleb Love Game without the Armando Bacot Save.
You know exactly what I am talking about. UCLA led, 64-61, with two minutes to play. Love had a rare miss on a three-point shot that appeared certain to bounce out of bounds. UCLA's Jules Bernard thought so. He paused for less than a second—less than half a second—because it appeared so sure that the ball was going out of bounds.
Bacot didn't pause. Armando Bacot, who has had one of the greatest seasons rebounding the basketball in University of North Carolina and Atlantic Coast Conference history, wasn't going to let possession go to the Bruins without an attempt.
It's hard to know exactly which part of the play was more miraculous. There was the way Bacot measured his step just right, leaving an indisputable strip of hardwood between his sneaker and the out of bounds line, making sure he was in bounds before he left his feet to go for the save.
Let's acknowledge that when the 2022 team gets back together in five years and is recounting this game, Bacot will absolutely claim that he saw Love all the way and was purposely lining up the pass to chalk up another assist. Let the record show that right after the game, that wasn't exactly how he described it.
"I was just trying to keep the play alive," Bacot said. "I just hopefully threw the ball up hoping somebody would get it. And it was great that Caleb had the instincts to find the ball, and then to hit a big three was huge."
That's NCAA Tournament basketball for you. Carolina has practiced 98 times since the fall. And their season hung on one moment, on one possession, when their star absolutely refused to quit. How many times out of 100 does he just let that ball go? How many times out of 100 when he chases it is he unable to save it to a teammate?
All that matters is that on Friday, he went and got it. And on Friday, his toss back into the court found Love.
"
That was the turning point of the game," UCLA head coach Mick Cronin said. "That changed the game. We get that rebound, it's different. But you never know what happens. Obviously that's going to keep me up at night."
Here are Bacot's final two minutes and 40 seconds of the game:
Stayed with Tyger Campbell on a defensive switch and forced a Campbell turnover.
Blocked a Jaime Jaquez shot.
Made the save that led to Love's tying three-pointer.
Assisted on Love's next three-pointer, which gave Carolina a 67-64 lead.
Grabbed the defensive rebound after a Jaquez miss with 42 seconds remaining.
Tipped in RJ Davis' miss with 15 seconds left to give Carolina a five-point lead.
Love's 30 now have a permanent place in Tar Heel NCAA Tournament lore. But we never could have had the Caleb Love Game without Armando Bacot.
PHILADELPHIA—This was the game when Caleb Love had 30.
That will be the way we remember it a year or a decade from now. The Caleb Lovegame. I would just like to remind you of Caleb Love's first half line from Friday night's win over UCLA:
1-for-8 from the field. 1-for-4 from the three-point line. Three assists. No turnovers.
At this point, Carolina was down by three points and Love had not made a two-point field goal in the entire NCAA Tournament. Does this particularly sound like a player who is about to have 20 of the greatest minutes in Tar Heel postseason history?
But that's what happened, the latest improbably exhilarating twist on a postseason run that now features a sentence there is no way you would have believed a year ago, a month ago, a week ago, or maybe even an hour ago:
Carolina is playing Saint Peter's for a spot in the Final Four.
So without a doubt, this was the Caleb Love Game, and please let history reflect that this game was generated by two things: 1. Eric Hoots forcing Love to change from the black Jordans to the Carolina blue Jordans at halftime. "Caleb, you are one for eight," Hoots said, and I may be leaving out a colorful descriptive word or two. Then he glared at the black shoes. Love got the message. 2. Hubert Davisencouraging Love to start his offense going towards the basket instead of away from the basket, which Love did on Carolina's very first possession of the second half, when he drove and converted his first two-point basket of the NCAA Tournament.
It can be your personal preference about which factor you believe was bigger.
But I am going to tell you something: we don't get to have the Caleb Love Game without the Armando Bacot Save.
You know exactly what I am talking about. UCLA led, 64-61, with two minutes to play. Love had a rare miss on a three-point shot that appeared certain to bounce out of bounds. UCLA's Jules Bernard thought so. He paused for less than a second—less than half a second—because it appeared so sure that the ball was going out of bounds.
Bacot didn't pause. Armando Bacot, who has had one of the greatest seasons rebounding the basketball in University of North Carolina and Atlantic Coast Conference history, wasn't going to let possession go to the Bruins without an attempt.
It's hard to know exactly which part of the play was more miraculous. There was the way Bacot measured his step just right, leaving an indisputable strip of hardwood between his sneaker and the out of bounds line, making sure he was in bounds before he left his feet to go for the save.
Let's acknowledge that when the 2022 team gets back together in five years and is recounting this game, Bacot will absolutely claim that he saw Love all the way and was purposely lining up the pass to chalk up another assist. Let the record show that right after the game, that wasn't exactly how he described it.
"I was just trying to keep the play alive," Bacot said. "I just hopefully threw the ball up hoping somebody would get it. And it was great that Caleb had the instincts to find the ball, and then to hit a big three was huge."
That's NCAA Tournament basketball for you. Carolina has practiced 98 times since the fall. And their season hung on one moment, on one possession, when their star absolutely refused to quit. How many times out of 100 does he just let that ball go? How many times out of 100 when he chases it is he unable to save it to a teammate?
All that matters is that on Friday, he went and got it. And on Friday, his toss back into the court found Love.
"
That was the turning point of the game," UCLA head coach Mick Cronin said. "That changed the game. We get that rebound, it's different. But you never know what happens. Obviously that's going to keep me up at night."
Here are Bacot's final two minutes and 40 seconds of the game:
Stayed with Tyger Campbell on a defensive switch and forced a Campbell turnover.
Blocked a Jaime Jaquez shot.
Made the save that led to Love's tying three-pointer.
Assisted on Love's next three-pointer, which gave Carolina a 67-64 lead.
Grabbed the defensive rebound after a Jaquez miss with 42 seconds remaining.
Tipped in RJ Davis' miss with 15 seconds left to give Carolina a five-point lead.
Love's 30 now have a permanent place in Tar Heel NCAA Tournament lore. But we never could have had the Caleb Love Game without Armando Bacot.
