It was the end of the road for the national title dreams of Jules Bernard and the UCLA Bruins Friday night. The Bruins, who reached the national championship game in 2021 got booted out of the NCAA Tournament by Caleb Love and the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Sweet Sixteen round.

The Bruins brought a three-point lead to halftime but fell prey to the scorching performance of Love, who put the Tar Heels on his back to carry them to a 73-66 victory. The loss understandably was a tough pill to swallow for the Bruins, especially since it was practically just one player who torched them for the most part of the second half. Bernard perhaps said it best following the game.

”One hot player can send you home,” UCLA guard Jules Bernard said.

Love is arguably the best Tar Heels player this season, but he was coming off a cold outing in the second-round win over the Baylor Bears in which he only put up five points. He certainly atoned for that lousy performance in the Sweet Sixteen, as he generated 30 points on 11/24 shooting from the field, including a 6/13 line from behind the arc.

As for the Bruins, the loss to North Carolina could turn out to be the last game for juniors Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez.