As if Saturday night’s Duke-Carolina game didn’t have high enough stakes, now the contest will feature two players fighting for possession of one of college basketball’s top positional honors.

The Basketball Hall of Fame announced its 10-player watch list for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Friday afternoon, which is given to the best center in college basketball. UNC’s star big man Armando Bacot is one of the ten names included on the list.

Bacot is currently averaging 16.5 points per game and 12.6 rebounds per game, the only player in the ACC to average a double-double. His 12.6 rebounds per game rank third in the country, behind only Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe and Utah Valley’s Fardaws Aimaq. Bacot’s 17 double-doubles are tied with Aimaq for most in the country. Bacot has also improved his shot-blocking, ranking sixth in the ACC with 1.7 per game. He’s recorded at least two blocks in each of his last three games, including six against NC State, which tied a career-high.

Bacot would be the first Tar Heel to ever win the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which has been given out since the 2014-15 season.

Several other names on the watch list should ring a bell for Carolina fans. Duke’s Mark Williams, who will be matched up with Bacot down low on Saturday night, is also featured. The seven-foot, one-inch Williams leads the ACC in blocks with 3.2 per game, which ranks 11th in the country. Walker Kessler, who transferred from Carolina to Auburn following the 2020-21 season, also appears on the list. Kessler has turned into a superstar with the Tigers, blocking more than four shots per game this season.

In addition, three centers appear on the list who have already faced off against the Tar Heels this season: Tshiebwe, Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson and Purdue’s Zach Edey.

 

Featured image via Todd Melet

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