UNC Basketball: Armando Bacot named National Player of the Week

The sensational UNC basketball center is putting up incredible numbers in conference play.

Over the past few weeks, there hasn’t been a hotter player in college basketball than North Carolina’s Armando Bacot.

The 6-foot-10, 240-pound center has racked up seven consecutive double-doubles and is averaging 21.3 points and 13.3 rebounds per game during that stretch. And if that weren’t impressive enough, he’s shooting the ball at a 64.4 percent clip from the floor and nearly 79 percent at the free throw line.

He’s been receiving a bit of national attention in the process, particularly for his work over the past three games. That’s the span that includes his 21-point, 17-rebound effort in a tough loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, as well as the incredible 29-point, 21-rebound performance that he gave the Tar Heels in a victory over the Virginia Cavaliers.

And although it seems like a crime that he didn’t take home the USBWA Player of the Week award for his work in those two games, he did get the recognition he deserves this week. On Tuesday, Bacot was honored by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association as the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week.

En route to his 12th double-double of the season, Bacot scored 29 points, tying his career-high set the week prior against the Virginia Cavaliers, and pulled down 12 rebounds in a win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. He hit 10-of-16 shots for the game and connected on all nine of his attempts at the foul line. He scored 20 of his 29 points in the second half and became the first Tar Heel to score 29 or more points in consecutive games since Tyler Hansbrough in 2008.

Bacot and the Tar Heels will take on the first-place Miami Hurricanes on Tuesday night in what figures to be a very competitive road contest.

Stick with Keeping It Heel for complete coverage of the game, as well as all the latest news, views and rumors on the UNC basketball program.