UNC Basketball: Bacot battles, Tar Heels win at Louisville

Playing through his left ankle injury, Armando Bacot put together a strong performance to lead the UNC basketball program to victory.

There were plenty of questions heading into this game, as the UNC basketball program looked destined to be without two key contributors.

However, star big man Armando Bacot’s toughness was on display, as he battled through the left ankle injury he suffered earlier in the week to lead the Tar Heels to their first road victory of the season.

In 25 minutes of action, Bacot put together another double-double performance, registering 14 points on 5-8 shooting while hauling in 16 rebounds. You could tell that the injury was impacting him, but it wasn’t going to stop the Tar Heels leader from being out there for his team.

Taking an 11-point lead into the half, the Tar Heels began the second half on a 12-2 run, courtesy of points scored by the duo of Leaky Black and Puff Johnson. From there, North Carolina would hold the struggling Cardinals at bay, as they head home to Chapel Hill with their first ACC road win of the 2022-2023 campaign.

D’Marco Dunn had a career day on both sides of the basketball, as he scored a career-best 14 points. Tasked with trying to slow down El Ellis, Louisville’s leading scorer, Dunn made life difficult for the senior, as he had trouble staying hot offensively when Dunn or freshman Seth Trimble were assigned to him.

Dunn did a little bit of everything. He knocked down five of his seven shot attempts and had five rebounds, two steals, one assist, and one block. Needless to say, the Tar Heels could use more of that production from him moving forward.

Along with Bacot and Dunn, the UNC basketball program had five players score in double-figures. Both Johnson and RJ Davis contributed 12 points while Caleb Love, who still seems to be struggling to find his rhythm, was able to post 10 points of his own.

Take it as you may, given that we know that Louisville is in a complete rebuild, but it was encouraging to see the Tar Heels put a lesser opponent away for good. It was even more encouraging to see Bacot being able to play, as his presence on the court makes a big difference for the UNC basketball program.

The Tar Heels head back to Chapel Hill, as they’ll play two games at the Dean Smith Center over the next seven calendar days. That two-game stretch begins on Tuesday night, as they’ll host Boston College.

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