North Carolina found themselves off to a hot start in Atlantic Coast Conference play this season, winning nine straight before falling to Georgia Tech.
It was at that moment when Hubert Davis said he needed more from Armando Bacot, saying “We need him to be a dude down low”. And since then, Bacot has answered.
In the five games since the end of January, Bacot has averaged 19.6 points, and 12 rebounds, reasserting himself as a dominant big man in the paint for the Tar Heels. Not only is he doing it on the offensive side, but he’s getting it done on defense too.
Since Armando Bacot averaged 6.3 points and 6.7 rebounds over a three-game stretch in late January — after which Hubert Davis said, "We need him to be a dude down low" — Bacot is averaging 19.6 points and 12.0 rebounds in his last five games. Had 25 and 12 today.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) February 17, 2024
Bacot hit a bit of a rough stretch there at the end of January but has responded well and has come up big for the Tar Heels.
His 25-point game was the third time he’s hit that mark this season and he now has 13 double-doubles on the year. UNC has five games left before the ACC Tournament and then the NCAA Tournament, and if they want to make a deep run in March, it might fall on the shoulders of Bacot, RJ Davis, and Harrison Ingram.
And that trio is playing as good as almost any in the country right now.
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