North Carolina avoided a little bit of a disaster on Saturday against Virginia Tech, holding off a few pushes from the Hokies. While UNC had a double-digit lead for a good amount of this game, they did clamp down defensively to limit the Hokies.
And in the second half, they went to Armando Bacot to seal the deal.
Bacot scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half, getting a big win for the Tar Heels who were listed as the first No. 2 seed in the selection committee’s first rankings of the NCAA Tournament. The spot that North Carolina is in right now is the best they’ve been in the last couple of seasons.
For Bacot, he was asked about going into the final few weeks of the season and not being worried about being on the bubble like years past.
“I mean, it’s a great feeling,” Bacot said. “It’s a feeling I haven’t really been able to have since I’ve been here. I’m happy and this is the best I’ve felt since I’ve been here.”
In Bacot’s first season, the Tar Heels were not making the NCAA Tournament before COVID-19 canceled it. The year after, the Tar Heels were bounced by Wisconsin which ended up being the final game Roy Williams coached in.
Then after that magical run to the national championship game in 2022, the Tar Heels fell short of making the tournament last year. But here in 2024, they are set for a run in Bacot’s final year. And let’s hope they can achieve their goal of being the last team standing come April.
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