The dust is still settling from the UNC men’s basketball team’s championship loss to Kansas last Monday in New Orleans, one in which junior forward Armando Bacot recorded yet another double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds. The Tar Heels had to play the final moments of the game without their star big man, who re-aggravated an ankle injury from the game before and had to be helped off the floor.
But that unfortunate ending shouldn’t cloud over a historic season for Bacot, which saw him set new standards of excellence in rebounding and consistency both in Carolina history and in the history of the ACC as a whole. Let’s take a deeper dive into some of Bacot’s outstanding numbers:
31 Double-Doubles
Perhaps the most talked-about statistic of Bacot’s season, his double-double output became his calling card as UNC hit the home stretch of the season. Bacot became the only player in the history of Division I basketball to record a double-double in six games during the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 15.3 points and 16.5 rebounds per game during the run. That brought his total for the season to 31, surpassing the old ACC record of 29 set by Wake Forest’s Tim Duncan in 1997 and tying him for the all-time record with Navy’s David Robinson, who recorded 31 in 1986. Both Duncan and Robinson (who coincidentally played much of their professional careers together) are members of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Bacot also destroyed the old UNC record for single-season double-doubles of 23, set by Brice Johnson in 2016.
13.1 Rebounds Per Game
Bacot was by far the most consistent rebounder in the ACC this season, as the next closest player in rebounds per game was NC State’s Dereon Seabron with 8.2. Bacot’s season rebounding rate put him in fifth place all-time at UNC, trailing only Billy Cunningham (who averaged better than 14 rebounds per game three times) and Doug Moe, who averaged 14 per game during the 1960-61 season. In other words, Bacot had the best rebounding season at UNC in nearly 60 years. His 13.1 boards per game were also the most by an ACC player since Tim Duncan averaged 14.7 rebounds in 1997. No ACC player had even surpassed 13 per game until Bacot did just that this season. He is the first UNC player to lead the conference in rebounding since John Henson did so in 2012.
511 Total Rebounds
Bacot’s 511 total rebounds this season are by far the most in UNC history (Brice Johnson is second with 416) and are fourth-most in ACC history, trailing only Ronnie Shavlik of NC State, who surpassed that number twice, and Dickie Hemric of Wake Forest. Both Shavlik and Hemric achieved those numbers in 1955 and 1956. Bacot’s total rebounds are the second-most among all Division I players since the 1985-86 season and just five behind Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe, who grabbed 516 boards this season and was named National Player of the Year. Since 1985-86, only Bacot, Tshiebwe, Morehead State’s Kenneth Faried and Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin have totaled 500 or more rebounds in a single season.
Of Bacot’s 511 total rebounds, 99 came in the NCAA Tournament. That is the second-most all-time, behind only La Salle’s Tom Gola, who recorded 102 in 1954. Bacot obliterated the previous UNC record of 69 in a single tournament, set by Kennedy Meeks in 2017. Bacot also now has 1,001 career rebounds, making him only the third Tar Heel to reach 1,000 rebounds in three seasons. Billy Cunningham and Antawn Jamison are the others.
Five Games of 20 Or More Rebounds
Naturally, Bacot’s historic season included a number of outstanding games. He recorded five games of 20 or more rebounds, tying Billy Cunningham for the most in a single season at UNC. Two of Bacot’s 20-rebound performances came in the NCAA Tournament. Only Tyler Zeller had ever before recorded a 20+ rebound game for UNC in the tournament, and that came in a game which went to overtime. Bacot twice paired a 20-rebound game with a 20-point game, against Virginia in January and against Saint Peter’s in the Elite Eight. He became the first Tar Heel to record a 20-20 game since Brice Johnson in 2016, and the first to do so in the Smith Center since Sean May in 2005. However, neither May nor Johnson recorded multiple 20-20 games in a single season, as Bacot did this year.
The numbers don’t lie: Armando Bacot had one of the best seasons ever by a post player at UNC. And while his second-place finish in ACC Player of the Year voting means Bacot’s jersey isn’t yet eligible for being raised to the Smith Center rafters, he still will be remembered fondly for years to come among Carolina fans.
As for a possible sequel, Bacot has approximately two weeks to make a decision regarding his professional future. Should he declare for the NBA Draft but not hire an agent, he would have until June 1 to pull his name out and retain college eligibility.
Featured image via Todd Melet
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Mando was in beast mode all year! He was a boat load every game. I’m still marveling at his leadership and consistency. Teams game planned and fouled him regularly (and it often wasn’t called), but it still didn’t matter. It really blows your mind if you think about what it actually took to perform at such a high level too much.
It definitely ranks up their with the all time greats.
It’s obvious that if Bacot had not twisted his ankle against Duke, Carolina would be national champs.