Armando Bacot named a player who can shape the NCAA tournament’s first weekend

North Carolina has their assignment for the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament as they await the winner of the 16-seed play-in game between Howard and Wagner. If North Carolina were to win, they would stay in Charlotte and face off against either Mississippi State or Michigan State in the second round with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.

After an impressive regular season that saw the Tar Heels claim the ACC regular season title, they have their eyes set on the bigger prize. Cutting down the nets in Phoenix this April. And if they want to get to the Sweet 16 and take a step forward, Armando Bacot is going to have to be a factor.

Bacot was listed by Rivals as one of the former five-star recruits that can shape the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Here is what Rob Cassidy had to say about Bacot on the list:

Bacot just made the blue chip cut back in 2019, being ranked as the one of the last five-stars in the Rivals150. He now stands as one of the most important players on one of the most important teams in this year’s tournament and will provide some serious veteran leadership for the No. 1-seeded Tar Heels, who are expected to make a deep run in the tournament. Bacot began his high school career at Virginia’s Trinity Episcopal before transferring to Florida’s famed IMG Academy and has played his entire, five-season college career for North Carolina, which makes him a bit of an anomaly in the modern game. It has also endeared him to Tar Heel fans, however, and it feels as though he stands on the verge of Chapel Hill folk-hero status should the Tar Heels find themselves in the Final Four.

In his fifth and final season, Bacot is averaging 14.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 54.5 percent from the floor. We’ve already seen what Bacot can do when he gets hot in the NCAA Tournament and the Tar Heels are hoping he shows up in a big way this March.