Bacot is North Carolina’s leading scorer and has been a key contributor to the team’s success. The Tar Heels are expecting him in their title game matchup against Michigan State despite an injury that kept him out of three games this season.
The “armando bacot injury update” is an article that discusses the status of Armando Bacot, who was injured in North Carolina Tar Heels’ game against Duke Blue Devils.
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ESPN’s Pete Thamel
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Armando Bacot, North Carolina’s standout big man, will play in the national championship game against Kansas on Monday night.
In UNC’s 81-77 Final Four victory against Duke on Saturday, Bacot hurt his right ankle. After the injury, he exited for less than a minute of game time and walked cautiously in the last minutes of the second half. Coach Hubert Davis said that Bacot will practice on Sunday, but emphasized that the team’s full session would be restricted. The X-rays on Bacot were negative, and the edema wasn’t too bad, he noted.
Davis said, “He’s ready to play next night.”
If Bacot is restricted, UNC will have the most difficult time replacing him. He leads the team in scoring (16.3 points per game) and rebounding (13.1 rebounds per game), with his rebounding total ranking third in the nation. According to KenPom.com, he is ranked No. 8 in defensive rebound percentage (30.2%) and No. 21 in offensive rebound percentage (14.9%).
Bacot said on Sunday that he had being treated almost nonstop since the game concluded. He stated he spent two hours treating the ankle after the X-rays and then woke up on Sunday morning and went into the pool to rehab. He claimed he kept the ankle in compression cuffs while working on a homework project for a sports facilities class on Sunday morning. He stated he underwent stimulation therapy on it when dealing with the media on Sunday afternoon.
“I don’t have an option,” Bacot said, “since we don’t have another big guy.”
The Tar Heels’ alternatives following Bacot aren’t very appetizing. Brady Manek, a 6-foot-9 forward, might be moved to the 5-spot, where he played regularly versus Kansas during his time at Oklahoma. This would be a challenging matchup for UNC inside against Kansas’ David McCormack, who is coming off a season-high 25-point outburst against Villanova.
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On Saturday night, McCormack, a 6-foot-10, 250-pound forward, became a human bowling ball due to his comfort with contact. On a night when he went 10-for-12 from the field with nine rebounds, he celebrated with self-congratulatory muscle flexes.
Davis went so far as to remark that the winner of Monday night’s national championship game “may ultimately come down to the winner of that contest.”
If Bacot is unable to play in the championship game and UNC wants Manek to avoid playing post defense against McCormack, the Heels may turn to backup forwards Justin McKoy (6-8, 220) or Dontrez Styles (6-8, 220). (6-6, 210). UNC isn’t interested in any of those possibilities.
“There aren’t any other large males,” Bacot said. “Who knows what Dave McCormack will do if I don’t play?”
If Bacot is restricted or gets into foul trouble again, the departure of 6-11 big Dawson Garcia from the UNC roster might be significant. Garcia, a Marquette transfer, last played for UNC on January 22nd, and the school stated in February that he would not be returning due to family medical difficulties.
As a result, Bacot has had a better opportunity to dominate. Through five games in the NCAA tournament, he has averaged 16.8 rebounds. Against Duke, he had 21 rebounds and against Saint Peter’s, he had 22. Bacot said, “I feel like the greatest big in the nation.”
On Saturday night against Duke, Bacot writhed on the ground in agony for almost a minute after it looked he stomped on teammate Leaky Black’s foot with 5:18 left. For the trek across the floor, he hobbled to the bench without placing any weight on his right leg, his arms stretched across two teammates.
He first said that he was in such much agony that he was not considering returning to the game. Bacot claimed a pep talk from trainer Doug Halverson gave him an adrenaline boost as he moved past the UNC bench into the tunnel. Joel Berry overcame ankle issues in the run to the 2017 national championship without any treatment, according to Halverson.
When queried about his health by a teammate with 4:36 remaining in the game, Bacot remembers delivering a more vulgar version of the phrase: “Forget it.” That was caught on camera and went viral on social media. “I mean, there’s four minutes remaining in the national championship [game],” he continued on Sunday.
On Sunday, Bacot said that he did not believe UNC would have won the game if he had not returned and played those four minutes. With 46.7 seconds remaining, he fouled out.
