Aftermath Against Notre Dame: #7 Tar Heels Breeze by Notre Dame on Senior Night

 

(Photo Courtesy Icon Sportswire/GettyImages) 

By JEREMIAH ARTACHO

Chapel Hill, N.C. --- The #7 Tar Heels claim victory on senior night with a ginormous win, blowing out the Notre Dame Fighting Irish by 33 points, 84-51. This game took a little bit of everybody on the offensive end to share the load in an entertaining and enjoyable manner. 

 

One last match before the big regular season finale against Duke this coming Saturday, UNC came into this game with their foot on gas from start to finish. The Duke victory last month was stuck in between two losses versus Georgia Tech and Clemson. 

 

"I don't think there's really many emotions for me because I'm just a junior and I just got here. For me, it wasn't that many emotions. I just want to get the win, and you know, not take this team lightly because I feel like last time we played Duke leading up to the game, we lost Georgia Tech before then lost to Clemson after," Harrison Ingram said after the game regarding his thoughts for this Saturday's matchup with Duke. 

 

Armando Bacot has officially played his last game in the Dean Smith Center, an emotional night for number 5, who began his career under former coach Roy Williams during the 2019–2020 season. 

 

"Yeah, I mean, it's just crazy to think... This being my last game here and how far I've come, I mean... I'm just so thankful, even for you guys (the reporters). Through the tough times and good times, y'all always remain professional, and y'all believed in us, and I mean just everything y'all do. I'm going to miss this part of it too. Just being able to see all your faces when we travel and being able to play in this gym its meant the world to me. I may not have been the best player that ever play here, may not have scored the most points. I did grab the most rebounds, may not have blocked the most shots, but I think terms of players, nobody has loved this school more than I have. And that's something I can be proud of," said an emotional Bacot during the postgame interviews, tearing up in the process. 

 

The accolades that Bacot has been able to achieve during his time in Chapel Hill have been remarkable; they place the discussion of whether or not his number should be hanged in the rafters. 

 

"Yeah, I mean, it'll mean the world, and I mean, that's why I came back... I mean, I feel good. Just stay tuned," he said. 

 

It was not until after the game for UNC's all-time leader in rebounds that his emotions started to settle in, as he expressed that his time playing in the Carolina blue and white in front of the fans had now come to an end. 

 

"Because it's over. I mean, all day I really just been focusing on the game, and even when I first got out there, the first half really just felt weird because I'm thinking the whole time like it's over. It really took me a minute to settle in today because I just couldn't really believe it, but to get to this point, just even thinking about where I was my freshman year, I mean, it's just amazing. 

 

For more context about Bacot's freshman year, before the season ended due to the global pandemic back in 2020, the Tar Heels had one of the worst seasons in program history. That season, the team finished 14-19 and ended with a conference record of 6-14. 

 

A crucial meeting after that season between Bacot and Coach Roy Williams stirred up the pot for an improving center out of Richmond, Virginia. 

 

"I could just remember as a freshman that summer meeting with Coach Williams and just him being so honest and telling me that I needed to get better. I mean, we had Day'Ron Sharpe, we had Walker Kessler coming in, and feel like a lot of kids in my situation would transfer, quit... It just pushed me to go harder," a visibly crying Bacot said. 

 

Armando Bacot completed the game with 14 points and five rebounds. He shot four of eight for the game, which put a spotlight on two three-pointers from the left wing, sending the entire Dean Dome into madness. 

 

RJ Davis just made his normal contributions with a 22-point outing to go along with four rebounds and six assists. Davis made nine of his 15 shot attempts for the game, making four threes in the process. 

 

Cormac Ryan, Harrison Ingram, and Jalen Washington each scored in double figures with 14, 11, and 14, respectively. 

 

That makes five different guys score at least 10 points for the game. 

 

UNC shot 45% FG, 38% 3PT, and 60% FT against Notre Dame. 

 

The Tar Heels have now won six of their last seven outings as they now look to round two against the Duke Blue Devils this coming Saturday, March 9th. 

 

A win, and UNC becomes the outright ACC regular season champions. 

Starters 

RJ Davis - 31 MIN, 22 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST, 9-15 FG, 4-6 3PT, 0-1 FT

Creighton Lebo - 4 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0-4 FG, 0-2 3PT, 0-0 FT

Rob Landry - 4 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 FT

Duwe Farris - 4 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 FT

Armando Bacot - 26 MIN, 14 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 4-8 FG, 2-2 3PT, 4-6 FT

Bench 

Cormac Ryan - 31 MIN, 14 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 4-9 FG, 2-5 3PT, 4-6 FT

Harrison Ingram - 31 MIN, 11 PTS, 14 REB, 4 AST, 5-16 FG, 1-8 3PT, 0-0 FT

Elliot Cadeau - 24 MIN, 4 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 2-4 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-1 FT

Seth Trimble - 16 MIN, 6 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 3-5 FG, 0-2 3PT, 0-0 FT

Jalen Washington - 11 MIN, 10 PTS, 5 REB, 0 AST, 4-5 FG, 2-2 3PT, 0-0 FT

Jae'Lyn Withers - 6 MIN, 3 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 1-2 FG, 0-0 3PT, 1-1 FT

Paxson Wojick- 5 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3PT, 0-0 

James Okonkwo - 3 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 FT

Zayden High - 3 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3PT, 0-0 FT