Hobbled Bacot comes up short in Tar Heels’ title push
NEW ORLEANS — Armando Bacot had been the anchoring presence in the paint all season for North Carolina, providing low-post scoring to go with his relentless work on the boards that made him one of the nation’s most unstoppable rebounders.
In the end, battling both an ankle injury and Kansas’ physical David McCormack inside proved to be too much.
Hobbled all night, the 6-foot10 junior had a double-double by halftime of the national championship game but faded after the break as Kansas erased a big deficit. That was all before Bacot reinjured the ankle on a fall in the final minute and exited a final time, ending his night — and the Tar Heels’ remarkable postseason push -- one win short of a national championship.
Bacot finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds in Monday night’s 72-69 loss to the Jayhawks, turning in a gutsy performance in the NCAA title game despite it being apparent to everyone in the Superdome that he was limited.
He had 12 points and 10 rebounds by halftime to become the first player in tournament history to post six double-doubles in a single tournament. But he missed 10 of 13 shots and got nearly all of his production at the foul line.
Bacot’s right ankle had been a subject of scrutiny ever since he stepped on teammate Leaky Black’s foot late in Saturday’s win against rival Duke in the national semifinals. Bacot returned and gutted that game out, then assured anyone who would listen that he would be ready for the title tilt against Kansas.
But it was clear during pregame warmups that Bacot wasn’t moving at full speed. He fought and scrapped inside, but struggled to finish when the ball came his way in the post to help offset the burden on outside-shooting teammates Caleb Love, R.J. Davis and Brady Manek.
With Bacot struggling and no other player capable of replacing him, UNC shot just 31.5% and went 5 of 23 from 3-point range in a game that came down to the final play after the Tar Heels squandered a 16-point first-half lead.
Post play proved pivotal throughout Final Four
NEW ORLEANS — David McCormack’s two late baskets in the paint to help Kansas surge past North Carolina
during the NCAA championship game followed a Final Four trend.
The way teams played in the post had a major influence on how the games turned out.
McCormack scored the final four points of Monday night’s national title game to finish with 15 points and 10 rebounds in Kansas’ 72-69 triumph.
“It shows how much trust coach (Bill Self) and teammates have in me,” McCormack said. “Coach called the play and said we’re going to throw it inside and we have trust in you
and faith in you to deliver and get us a basket. I just prevailed, I made the basket happen. I appreciate them for allowing me to have that opportunity.”
The late-game heroics capped a memorable Final Four for the Jayhawks’ big man.
McCormack’s final basket came after Tar Heels center Armando Bacot, whose strong start helped stake North Carolina to a 15-point halftime lead, needed help getting to the bench after re-aggravating an ankle injury that occurred during the second half of his influential semifinal performance on Saturday night.
In Saturday’s semifinal game against Villanova, the Wildcats lacked the size to handle the 6-foot-10 McCormack, who had two inches on anyone guarding him. He threw down several thunderous dunks and motioned repeatedly to Kansas fans to “raise the roof” of the Superdome on his way to a game-high 25 points.
The Jayhawks rolled to an 81-65 victory in which they led most of the second half by double digits.
Bacot, meanwhile, outplayed Duke’s post players in the other semifinal.
With 7-1 Duke center Mark Williams in foul trouble and playing just 16 minutes, Bacot was able to take command of the paint, grabbing 21 rebounds to go with his 11 points. Williams finished with eight points and four rebounds, and the Tar Heels pulled out an 81-77 victory.
With McCormack and the Jayhawks’ 6-8 Mitch Lightfoot limited by foul trouble in the first half of the final, Bacot had 12 points and 10 rebounds through the first 20 minutes, despite his sore ankle. The Tar Heels led by as many as 16 points late in the first half.
But McCormack asserted himself in the second half, when he had nine points and seven rebounds. Bacot was limited to just three points and five rebounds in the final 20 minutes as Kansas outscored the Tar Heels by 18 to pull off the largest comeback in an NCAA Tournament title game.
Bacot said playing McCormack while hobbled “was definitely tough just because he’s a bigger guy.”
“I really couldn’t, the whole game, get the push on anything on my post-ups, defensively, anything,” Bacot added. “It was just hard for me to really just stand my ground.”
McCormack simply wouldn’t be denied down the stretch. The first of the late baskets for came after rebounding his own miss and putting the ball back up over two defenders.
“Game’s on the line. You’ve got adrenaline pumping. You’ve got a desire you’re going to get it,” McCormack said. “Snatch a rebound with two hands. Coach talks about keeping the ball high and going right back up. That’s what was going through my mind. I’m right here, we work on touch shots every day. I’m able to use both hands . ... Get a quick basket and get back on defense.”