Wichita’s Caleb Grill electrifies college basketball with career game to beat No. 1 UNC
The No. 1-ranked team in men’s college basketball was taken down Friday behind a career-best performance from a Wichita native.
Maize graduate Caleb Grill scored a career-high 31 points to help Iowa State stun No. 1 North Carolina in a 70-65 win in the Phil Knight Invitational semifinals at Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in Portland. The Cyclones (5-0) will face either No. 18 Alabama or No. 20 Connecticut in Sunday’s championship game.
Grill, who was averaging 7.7 points and shooting 16.7% on three-pointers this season, erupted for the 31-point performance behind seven three-pointers, which matched his career-best mark, and 11-of-15 shooting from the field. His previous career high was 27 points while playing for UNLV against Alabama in the 2020-21 season.
“He’s put in a lot of time and a lot of hard work and really dedicated himself,” said Chris Grill, his father and his coach at Maize. “I think he’s played really well this year, but he hasn’t necessarily shot the ball incredibly well. So to have a good game like that, it just makes you feel better because he puts so much into the game and it makes it feel like it’s all been worth it. It was just really nice to see him get it going. He had a couple of crazy shots he knocked down.”
The 6-foot-3 senior sharpshooter from Wichita was the talk of college basketball Twitter on Friday evening, as he weaved his way through screens and nailed jumpers with a high degree of difficulty. His triple from nearly five feet behind the arc with 2:27 remaining tied the game with UNC. Then he put the Cyclones in front for good with an off-balance jumper on the very next possession.
“Caleb Grill out here balling for (Iowa State),” national college basketball reporter Andy Katz tweeted.
“Caleb Grill drinks green juice,” tweeted CBS Sports’ Seth Davis.
“This is just a bonkers performance from Caleb Grill,” tweeted ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. “Can’t miss!”
While his mother, Lena, was there in Portland to watch the game in person, Chris watched the game with his parents in their Maize home.
“Everybody was yelling and screaming like we were at the game,” Chris Grill said. “Everybody was going crazy at the end.
“You dream about that stuff. Most people don’t get that experience and it’s special to see your son doing so well and see him smiling and happy and just having fun. That was really special.”
It is the third time in program history Iowa State has defeated a No. 1-ranked team. Grill’s 31 points were the most by an Iowa State player in a win over a top-ranked team.
Grill was a three-sport star at Maize from 2015-19, as he was an all-state quarterback, all-state basketball player and high jump state champion. He played high school basketball for his father, Chris, who was formerly a Wichita State basketball player in the late 90s.
This story was originally published November 25, 2022 at 7:36 PM.
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