UNC Basketball: 5 reasons why Tar Heels have fallen apart this season

2. Teams are figuring out ways to slow down Armando Bacot

Had it not been for Paolo Banchero, Bacot likely would’ve been ACC Player of the Year last season. A month ago, the Tar Heel star center was the odds-on favorite to win the award this time around but the late slide has put that into clear question.

Bacot still is putting up big numbers, averaging 17.5 ppg and 11.3 rpg in 32 mpg. He’s been in double figures in every game this season (don’t count Virginia since he played just one minute before leaving with an injury) and is now the all-time rebounds and double-doubles in UNC Basketball history.

But even Bacot’s impact can be limited. In the two losses to both Duke and Pittsburgh, he was taken out of the game in the second half. In fact, against the Blue Devils, he didn’t even register a field goal attempt in the final 12 minutes. A big part of that was teams doubling him once he got the ball and the Heels not making any adjustments. It also doesn’t help that the guards sometimes don’t get him the ball enough when there’s room.

It’s hard to complain that a near 20 and 10 guy isn’t getting the ball enough but when the guards aren’t shooting well, Bacot should be getting the ball and having the offense run through him. If nothing else just to get the opposing bigs in foul trouble. They’ll have to do better to handle defenses designed to take him out of the game because it’s clearly working.