SHOT OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!@slam_university pic.twitter.com/IZjmXA71PB
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) January 28, 2025
Caleb Love made a 55-foot shot at the buzzer in regulation to force overtime and then made two more 3-pointers in the extra session to lead Arizona to a 86-75 victory Monday night over No. 3 Iowa State in front of a frenzied crowd at McKale Center.
“Best moment of my life,” Love said with a wide grin during the postgame press conference.
Arizona (14-6, 8-1 Big 12) has won 10 of its last 11 games while Iowa State (17-3, 7-2) has lost two of its last four. The Wildcats earned their fourth win over a ranked opponent this season.
“Holy sh–,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said of his reaction when Love made the shot from backcourt.
“A desperation 3 is probably not the chance you give yourself but it made for great theater,” Lloyd said.
Iowa State coach TJ Otzelberger said of the thriller: “These are the type of games we sign up for in this league.”
Love’s 3-pointers in consecutive possessions in overtime put Arizona ahead 81-75 with 1:41 left.
Love, who missed his first seven shots from 3-point range, finished with a game-high 22 points. He was 8 of 22 from the field, 4 of 13 from beyond the arc.
“Obviously, it didn’t go my way throughout the game but you’ve got to trust your work,” Love said. “Stay confident in your work. Stay confident in yourself. It ain’t over until it’s over.”
After Iowa State committed its third turnover in overtime, freshman sensation Carter Bryant converted his fourth 3-pointer of the game to put Arizona ahead 84-75.
Arizona scored the last 11 points of overtime. Iowa State was 1 of 6 from the field in the period.
Tobe Awaka finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds and KJ Lewis and Bryant each had 14 points.
“Dude’s a beast. He played his ass off.”
— Tommy Lloyd on Tobe Awaka’s 17 points and 12 rebounds— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) January 28, 2025
Tamin Lipsey had 18 points to lead Iowa State.
Keshon Gilbert finished with 17 points and Joshua Jefferson had 15. Gilbert and Jefferson combined for 26 of Iowa State’s 41 points in the second half.
Dishon Jackson also contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Cyclones.
The game included 11 lead changes and 10 ties.
Lewis was fouled and he made both free throws with 29.8 seconds left in regulation to cut the lead to 68-67.
Curtis Jones, who had eight points after scoring 33 in the win over Arizona State on Saturday, followed with two free throws with 20.2 seconds left.
Jones finished making 1 of 11 shots from the field and was 0 of 8 from 3-point range.
Love shared defensive responsibilities with Lewis on Jones.
“He’s a good player but we definitely shut him out, for sure,” Love said.
Henri Veesaar was fouled with 3.9 seconds left. He made the first free throw to cut the lead to 70-68 and intentionally missed the second try but Jefferson grabbed the rebound.
After Jefferson made one of two free-throw attempts, Love lofted his game-tying shot from the other side of the court at the buzzer.
A 16-0 run by Arizona gave the Wildcats a 34-25 lead with 1:05 left before halftime.
Iowa State’s 10-2 run with Gilbert and Jefferson each making a 3-pointer put the Cyclones ahead 47-43 with 15:07 left.
The game swayed back and forth like that throughout.
Arizona put Iowa State in a daze with Love’s miraculous shot.
The Cyclones missed seven of their last eight field-goal attempts while Arizona delivered the knockout blow making five of their final six attempts.
“Our message was, ‘Gritty, gritty, gritty,'” Love said. “We were definitely the gritty boys tonight.”
Arizona does not play again until Saturday at 11 a.m. at Arizona State.













