Armando Bacot provided a thrilling sequel to his historic performance against Virginia last weekend. Bacot matched his career-high 29 points against the Cavaliers with 29 more Saturday night, and grabbed 12 rebounds to secure another double-double, as Carolina earned a regular season sweep over Georgia Tech with an 88-65 win in the Smith Center. Bacot is the first Tar Heel to score 29 points in consecutive games since Tyler Hansbrough did so in the 2007-08 season.
𝗛𝗘𝗘𝗟𝗦 𝗪𝗜𝗡.#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/EteQ7XIT3X
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) January 16, 2022
It was another dominant performance from the junior big man, who head coach Hubert Davis declared the ACC Player of the Year in his Friday press conference. Bacot’s 12 double-doubles lead the conference.
“Yeah, I saw coach said that,” Bacot said after the game. “I feel like when I’m playing at this high of a level, I could definitely be the best player in the ACC.”
20 of Bacot’s points came in the second half, stealing the thunder from teammate R.J. Davis. Davis looked like he may run away with the lion’s share of UNC’s scoring in the first half, knocking in 16 points on 4-5 three-point shooting in the period. Davis finished with 21, after scoring 23 in Carolina’s first win over the Yellow Jackets in December. The Tar Heels are 3-0 this season when he scores 20 or more points.
“I knew he wanted to come out in this game and just kind of impose himself,” Bacot said. “R.J. playing big like that, it’s helpful. It says a lot about our team, how we’ve got so many guys that can score at a high rate. It could be anybody’s night.”
There was no question which team controlled the night. Carolina led wire-to-wire, cracking down defensively on Georgia Tech’s Michael Devoe, who came into the game leading the ACC with 20.5 points per game. He played 27 minutes Saturday, most of which came in the shadow of Leaky Black, and finished with just two points, a season-low.
“I feel like [Black] could be ACC Defensive Player of the Year,” Bacot said.
Hubert Davis echoed Bacot’s sentiment, emphasizing the senior wing’s versatility as a valuable asset.
“He’s an elite defender, that not only can defend, he can distribute,” Davis said. “He can take care of the basketball. He’s a huge reason for us becoming the team that we want to become.”
Black finished with four assists and zero turnovers on the night.
UNC’s defensive effort as a whole came without another one of the team’s premier defenders. Redshirt sophomore Anthony Harris was ruled out before the game due to undisclosed reasons. Nevertheless, the Tar Heels still held their opponent to 65 points or fewer for the ninth time in 11 games, after not doing so once in the first five games of the season.
“When they were going up against our set defense, I thought we did a really good job… all of us, not just Leaky,” Davis said. “I was very, very proud of them on the defensive end.”
One notable moment late in the game was sure to bring smiles to the faces of Carolina fans everywhere. With the win in hand, Davis subbed in sophomore wing Puff Johnson. Johnson, the brother of former Tar Heel Cameron Johnson, hadn’t played in a game since January 20 of last year due to nagging injuries. Davis told reporters he only got the OK to play Johnson the day before the game. For Black, one of the only Tar Heels on this year’s team to have played with Cameron Johnson, the younger Johnson checking into the game was quite the sight.
“It made my day, man. It made my day,” Black said. “He’s put in a lot of work. It’s been a tough road for him… he’s gonna be good.”
Up next, UNC will attempt to nab its third ACC road win of the season, as the Tar Heels visit Miami Tuesday night. A win would vault the Tar Heels past the Hurricanes into first place in the conference standings. A third consecutive 29-point performance from Bacot certainly wouldn’t hurt, but the big man isn’t putting the cart before the horse.
“It was great that we won, but I’m not satisfied,” he said. “I was happy with the performance, but I really want to win. I’m not gonna just hang my hat on one game. I want it to keep continuing, and then I’ll be a little happier.”
Featured image via Todd Melet. For a photo gallery of the game, click here.
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