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No. 8 North Carolina, Caleb Love shut down No. 4 UCLA, join Duke in Elite Eight
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- No. 8 North Carolina, Caleb Love shut down No. 4 UCLA, join Duke in Elite Eight
No. 8 North Carolina got a career-best performance from sophomore guard Caleb Love and beat No. 4 UCLA 73-66 to make an unexpected advance into the Elite Eight under first-year coach Hubert Davis.
Love scored 30 points, highlighted by six makes from 3-point range, to prevent the Bruins from making a second straight trip to the Final Four.
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After an uneven regular season, the Tar Heels are one of a few teams heating up at the right time — including rival Duke, setting up the potential for an unprecedented Final Four matchup in the final NCAA Tournament of Mike Krzyzewski's career.
As if his last tournament run needed any more hype and hoopla.
UNC stormed past UCLA with a torrid close to the second half. The Tar Heels went on a 12-2 run in the game's final 1:40, reversing the Bruins' 64-61 lead with a 3-pointer from Love to draw even, another Love bomb to take the lead and then a lay-up by Armando Bacot to move ahead 66-64 with 15 seconds left.
Love was one of four players in double figures, joining forward Armando Bacot (14 points and 15 rebounds), forward Brady Manek (13 points) and guard RJ Davis (12 points). UCLA was led by guard Jules Bernard, who scored 16 points.
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The win sends UNC into a matchup with No. 15 Saint Peter's, which knocked off No. 3 Purdue to become the highest seed to ever reach the Elite Eight .
At one point sitting at 12-6 overall and just 4-3 in the ACC, the Tar Heels have won 17 of 20 to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since winning the national championship in 2017.
Follow colleges reporter Paul Myerberg on Twitter @PaulMyerberg
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UNC beats UCLA in battle of bluebloods to advance to Elite Eight
