UNC’s Bacot will miss the game against UVA. Here’s how the Tar Heels will replace him
North Carolina coach Roy Williams is giving freshman Armando Bacot a .00001 percent chance to play on Sunday against Virginia.
In other words, don’t expect him on the court.
Bacot, a 6-10, 232-pound freshman, sprained his left ankle with 12:48 left in the first half of UNC’s game against Ohio State. He was going up for an offensive rebound when he came down on another player’s foot, bending it sideways.
Bacot stayed on the ground for some time as he screamed in pain. He had to be helped off the floor by teammates.
X-Rays on his ankle were negative for a break. However, there is no timetable for his return, Williams said in a press conference on Friday. The timetable for ankle sprains can vary depending on the severity of the injury.
In the case of Brandon Robinson, who sprained his ankle in a preseason game, he returned in three weeks. In the case of Leaky Black last season, it took him two months to return and was not fully healthy when he first came back.
“He is walking, he’s not on crutches, but it ballooned up,” Williams said of Bacot’s ankle. “It was big. So I just don’t see anything — anyway in the world he will play.”
Looking for scorers
UNC (6-2) lost to Ohio State 74-49 late Wednesday night. The Tar Heels were outrebounded for the first time all season, 48-32. It was UNC’s worst defeat at home under Roy Williams.
No. 5 Virginia (7-1), the defending national champions, is coming off a tough loss of its own. UVA lost 69-40 to Purdue on Wednesday.
The news of Bacot’s injury comes at a time when the Tar Heels have struggled to get much scoring from players outside of freshman point guard Cole Anthony. The Tar Heels have not scored above 78 points in a game this season or shot above 50 percent.
Against Ohio State, the Tar Heels shot a season-low 27.4 percent from the floor.
“You look at those numbers and you think, ‘God almighty,” Williams said. “I mean, really, I’ve never had a team score as little. I’ve never had a team shoot as badly.
“Maybe it’s me. Maybe I’ve gotten a lot dumber a lot quicker.”
Bacot is averaging 10.5 points per game and 8.9 rebounds. However, in two of those games — against UNC-Wilmington and Ohio State — he played less than 10 minutes because of injuries.
Bacot was one of UNC’s best scorers, its best shot blocker and best rebounder.
In the six games he finished, he was averaging 11 rebounds per game. His best game was against then No. 11 Oregon last week, where he scored 23 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and had six blocks in a 78-74 win.
Replacing Bacot
Losing Bacot fundamentally changes what the Tar Heels like to do on offense. The Tar Heels’ front line is already thin with junior forward Sterling Manley out indefinitely. He still has not practiced this season, and doesn’t appear as if he will return any time soon.
Williams likes to play two big men in his system and work the ball inside first.
“It’s going to be tough,” UNC junior forward Garrison Brooks said Wednesday of replacing Bacot. “I think we can do it, but it’s going to be really hard.”
Without Bacot, Williams said he will turn to 6-7, 210-pound forward Justin Pierce. Pierce’s primary position is small forward.
Brooks will play center and Pierce will play power forward or the four. If they go even smaller, Pierce will play the five and Black the four. Pierce, a grad transfer from William & Mary, is averaging 7 points per game and 5.5 rebounds.
He is shooting 35.8 percent from the floor overall, and 26.9 percent from behind the 3-point line.
“It’s just next man up mentality,” Pierce said Wednesday. “Whatever five are on the floor at all times, we just need to play likes it’s your last play because you don’t know when injury will strike.
“It’s my senior year, so I just need to leave it all out there.”
UNC at Virginia
When: Sunday, Dec. 8, 4 p.m.
Where: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, Va.
TV: ACC Network
This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 3:25 PM.
