Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram combined to score 37 points and grab 29 rebounds as the UNC men’s basketball team defeated Virginia Tech 96-81 at the Smith Center on Saturday afternoon.

That dynamic duo was part of a dominant effort by Carolina down low. The Tar Heels outrebounded the Hokies 43-31, owned a 54-36 advantage in points in the paint and a 17-9 advantage in second-chance points. Bacot finished with 25 points (tying a season-high) and 12 rebounds, while Ingram added 12 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. No Hokie finished with more than eight boards.

“He outworked them,” head coach Hubert Davis said of Bacot’s performance. “You can call whatever play, you can design whatever half-court set. If the player is not going to work hard to catch the ball where we want them to catch it… it’s a waste of time. We felt like it was an advantage for us to dominate points in the paint.”

For Bacot’s part, he expressed appreciation for the work Ingram has put in this season. The Stanford transfer has finished with at least 10 rebounds in 10 of Carolina’s last 14 games.

“It’s amazing having another talented big around me who can also go do a bunch of different things,” Bacot said. “The way he rebounded really pushed me in the second half. I’m like, ‘I can’t let him outshine me on the boards.’ When he plays like that, it’s tough to beat us. I think he really is our X-factor. If he plays well, we won’t lose at all.”

Not to be outdone, R.J. Davis scored 20 points and made three three-pointers, extending his school-record streak of consecutive games with multiple made threes to 23 — an appropriate number on Michael Jordan’s 61st birthday. After the game, Hubert Davis provided an endorsement for R.J. Davis to take home an honor Jordan won while at Carolina.

“He has my vote for ACC Player of the Year,” Hubert Davis said.

The win improves Carolina to 20-6 overall and 12-3 in ACC play, keeping the team in first place in the league standings. UNC has now surpassed its conference win total from last season (11).

Now, the Tar Heels find themselves in an unfamiliar position: with time on their hands. Carolina will be off for the next week before traveling to face No. 21 Virginia at 4 p.m. next Saturday. It’s the team’s first week-long break since the end of December.

“I think it’s a great time for us to have a week off to catch our breath,” Davis said. “I think it’s a great week for us to physically have a rest… this week is really big for us.”

 

Featured image via Associated Press/Ben McKeown

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