North Carolina Freshman In his college debut, Love led all scorers with 17 points and posted four assists and two steals in a 79–60 win over the
College of Charleston. On January 20, 2021, Love scored 20 points in an 80–73 win over
Wake Forest. On January 25, 2021, Love was named ACC Freshman of the week. On February 6, 2021, Love scored a then career-high 25 points and 7 assist in a 91–87 victory over rival
Duke. On February 8, 2021, Love earned his second
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Freshman of the week honor. He was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team after averaging 10.5 points and 3.5 assists per game. Following the season, longtime Tar Heel head coach
Roy Williams retired. After deliberating, Love decided to return to
Chapel Hill for his sophomore season.
Sophomore In head coach
Hubert Davis' first season in charge after the retirement of Williams, Love was a key piece of a starting lineup that became known as the "Iron Five." The lineup included himself,
R. J. Davis,
Leaky Black, Oklahoma transfer
Brady Manek, and
Armando Bacot. In what began as an up-and-down season for both Love and the rest of the team, the "Iron Five" became crucial to the team's success down the stretch in their run to the
National Championship game. In total on the season, Love set career highs in three point field goal percentage, games played, and starts, starting all but one of the 39 games played that season. He averaged 15.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game on the season, averaging 37.1% from the floor and 36% from beyond the three-point line. In the
2022 NCAA tournament, Love scored 27 of his then career-high 30 points in the second half of a 73–66 win over fourth-seeded
UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen. In the following
Final Four matchup with the
Duke Blue Devils, Love scored 28 points, including a late three-point shot seen as pivotal in the Tar Heels' 81–77 victory. In the Finals, he rolled his ankle and was shooting poorly, but still had a chance to tie the game despite
Kansas coming back in the second half. He air-balled a closely guarded step-back three-pointer, and UNC lost the title.
Junior After the late-season success of the prior season, Love, Black, Davis, and Bacot all decided to return for the 2022–23 season. Despite a pre-season No.1 ranking and massive expectations, the season went awry quickly for Love and his teammates. Still, Love was a key piece of the starting lineup and started 32 of the 33 games the team played (his lone appearance off the bench came on UNC's senior night, where tradition dictates that the starting lineup consists of all seniors on the team). The Tar Heels stumbled to a 20–13 record in Hubert Davis's second season. Love, despite shooting worse from the foul line and three-point line in his junior season, set new career highs in overall field-goal percentage (37.8%), points per game (16.7), and rebounds per game (3.7). Following the season, Love entered the transfer portal, announcing his intentions to play elsewhere in his senior year.
Arizona Senior After much speculation, Love originally committed to play his senior season at
Michigan. However, just over a month after committing to Michigan, Love decommitted from the Wolverines and headed back into transfer portal, reportedly due to an issue with transfer credits. He announced his commitment to the
Arizona Wildcats via social media on May 30, 2023. Love made his Wildcat debut on November 6, 2023, scoring 12 points and dishing out four assists in a 122–59 victory over
Morgan State. Love made his return to
Cameron Indoor Stadium on November 10 and beat No. 2 Duke 78–73, snapping their 17-game home winning streak. On December 16, Love had a game-high 29 points and six rebounds in a 92–84 loss to No. 3
Purdue, marking Arizona's first loss of the season. On January 6 against
Utah, Love had 23 points, six rebounds, and six assists on 60% from the field in a 92–73 victory. The next game against
Washington State, Love finished with 28 points and eight rebounds in a tight 73–70 road loss. On January 27, Love went 12-for-18 from the field and scored a career-high 36 points in a 87–78 road victory against
Oregon. His 36 points tied the single-game scoring record at
Matthew Knight Arena. On February 8, Love recorded his first career double-double in a triple overtime road victory against Utah, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Against
Washington on February 24, Love poured in 28 points and reached 2,000 collegiate points in a 91–75 win. On March 12, 2024, Love was awarded the
Pac-12 Player of the Year Award and became the tenth Arizona Wildcat to win the award. Love averaged a team-high 18.7 points on 43% from the field and 35.2% from three-point range. He added 4.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.2 steals in 32.2 minutes played. He helped Arizona earn the No. 2 seed in the West region of the
2024 NCAA Tournament. They advanced to the Sweet 16, where they lost to No. 6
Clemson 77–72, with Love missing all nine of his three-point attempts.
Graduate Love announced via his social media accounts on May 29, 2024, that he would withdraw from the
2024 NBA Draft and return to Arizona for his graduate season. He averaged 17.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game. ==Professional career==