ARIZONA WILDCATS BASKETBALL

BJ Freeman headbutts Caleb Love late, both ejected as Arizona knocks off ASU

Feb 1, 2025, 1:43 PM | Updated: 5:05 pm

ASU’s BJ Freeman headbutted Caleb Love late in Arizona’s win, and both were both ejected as the Wildcats beat the Sun Devils 81-72 in Tempe on Saturday.

“If you were right near our bench, it was relentless, constant chatter from a couple of the Arizona players that was not being policed properly. And of course, they’re gonna be happy with winning, but it was done with no class in my opinion,” coach Bobby Hurley said postgame of what led to the altercation.

“Words that were said back and forth led to the moment where Freeman lost it and lost his cool because of the constant talk that was allowed to go on,” the coach continued.

That talk, Hurley posited, led to the altercation after Jaden Bradley scored to put the Wildcats up by nine points with under a minute left to play. Love then went face-to-face with ASU guard BJ Freeman, and Freeman headbutted Love.

Love, who threw the ASU fork down multiple times throughout the game, was ejected following the confrontation while Freeman was initially given a technical foul. Following a review, Freeman was ejected as well.

“I can tell you who’s not getting a vote (for the all-conference teams). … You can read into that, I’m sure you might know who I’m thinking of right now,” Hurley said as he walked out of his postgame press conference, implying Love would be down a vote.

After the game, Hurley elected to not shake hands with Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd, and most of the players were sent away well before the final buzzer in similar fashion.

“I had to make a tough decision, in the best interest of our team, to get them into the locker room, so there’d be no further incidents the rest of the game and in the handshake line,” Hurley said of the early departure.

Love led the way for the Wildcats in the win scoring 27 points on 8-of-19 shooting while registering seven assists and six rebounds. Freeman led the way for the Sun Devils scoring 19 points on 7-of-17 shooting while registering three assists in the loss.

Comments

Comment guidelines: No name-calling, personal attacks, profanity, or insults. Please keep the conversation civil and help us moderate comments by reporting abuse.
comments powered by Disqus

Arizona Wildcats basketball

BYU guard Egor Demin (3) drives between Arizona guard KJ Lewis (5) and forward Trey Townsend during...

Lance Hartzler

No. 20 Arizona clamps down late to seal win over BYU

The No. 20 Arizona and BYU men's basketball teams were in a fun one in Provo, Utah, Tuesday night.

3 days ago

The Arizona Wildcats and UConn Huskies are finalizing a home-and-home series...

Tyler Drake

Arizona and UConn finalizing home-and-home men’s basketball series

The Arizona Wildcats are reportedly finalizing an agreement with the UConn Huskies for a home-and-home series beginning in the 2025-26 season.

4 days ago

Arizona's Caleb Love after headbutt...

Lance Hartzler

Arizona’s Caleb Love named Big 12 Player of the Week

No. 12 Arizona Wildcats guard Caleb Love was named the Big 12 player of the week following his performances in wins over Iowa State and ASU.

5 days ago

Arizona still on outside of AP Top 25...

Associated Press

College basketball rankings: Arizona returns to AP top 25 after beating ASU

The Arizona Wildcats (15-6) on Monday returned to The Associated Press' top 25 men's basketball rankings for the first time since November.

5 days ago

Richard Jefferson...

Damon Allred

Former Wildcat Richard Jefferson claps back at Bobby Hurley for questioning Arizona’s class

Richard Jefferson didn't take too kindly to Bobby Hurley questioning Arizona's class after his ASU squad was beaten on Saturday.

6 days ago

After he was ejected for an altercation in which he was headbutted by ASU's BJ Freeman late in an 8...

Bailey Leasure

Caleb Love takes high road after BJ Freeman’s headbutt leads to ejection in win over ASU

After he was ejected for an altercation in which he was headbutted by ASU's BJ Freeman late in an 81-72 win, Arizona's Caleb Love took the high road postgame. 

6 days ago

BJ Freeman headbutts Caleb Love late, both ejected as Arizona knocks off ASU