UNC Basketball wastes career night from Armando Bacot

The UNC basketball program got an outstanding performance from their junior big man, but it wasn’t enough to defeat Notre Dame on the road.

It wasn’t a fun trip to South Bend for the UNC basketball program, as they were defeated by the Fighting Irish on Wednesday night.

There were times, especially in the second half, where it appeared as if the Fighting Irish were ready to pull away, but the Tar Heels battled, overcoming multiple large deficits to keep the game within reach.

With North Carolina being short-handed due to Dawson Garcia’s injury along with Justin McKoy and Kerwin Walton currently going through COVID-19 protocols, the Tar Heels needed a spark from the key players that they did have available.

Simply put, Armando Bacot was up for the challenge, and had an absolute dominant first half.

Notre Dame did not have any answers for the junior big man through the first 20 minutes of play. Bacot recorded 16 points and 11 rebounds in the first half, marking the tenth time already this season that he has recorded a double-double. If you were wondering, Bacot also leads all ACC players in that category.

Although Mike Brey and company did everything in their power to slow Bacot down in the second half, he still was able to provide some steady contributions. Overall, the Richmond, Virginia native scored a game-high 21 points and recorded a career-best 17 boards.

Hubert Davis asked a lot from Bacot and his main available players in this one. With some important pieces missing, the typical rotation guys saw an increase in minutes, Bacot seeing a major rise in floor time. Coming into this game, Bacot was averaging just over 28 minutes per game. Against the Fighting Irish, the junior was on the floor for 36 of the possible 40 minutes.

Essentially, it’s a real shame that the Tar Heels wasted such a standout performance from Armando Bacot.

For the fourth time this season, Bacot is our “Tar Heel of the Game.” The UNC basketball is just 2-2 in the games that Bacot has earned the honor, so we hope that it does not become a common trend that the team struggles in games in which its best player dominates on the floor.

Check back on Saturday afternoon to see which UNC basketball player will earn the “Tar Heel of the Game” award against Virginia.

Continue to follow the Keeping It Heel team for all the latest news and updates regarding the UNC basketball program.