Three bold Indiana basketball predictions vs. No. 18 North Carolina

#2. Xavier Johnson bothers Caleb Love enough defensively

Since March 2022, when Caleb Love scores 20 or more points in a game he averages just 12.2 points per game on 29.2 percent shooting from the field in his following game played. In his last five games against major conference teams, Love is averaging 23.4 points on 37.3 percent shooting from the field and 28.6 percent from three.

One person that can cause a “bad game” for Love is Xavier Johnson. In his last five games against major conference teams, Johnson has held the primary ball-handler and scoring guard to 13.2 points per game on 37.5 percent shooting, along with 2.6 turnovers forced per game.

If Johnson can limit Love enough in this game, that will force Love to force difficult shots, along with others on the Tar Heels to try to score this game. Xavier will hold Love under 15 points on less than 30.0 percent shooting.