UNC Basketball: 3 takeaways from a first-round NCAA Tournament win over Wagner

2. Armando Bacot isn't ready to end his career just yet

UNC's big man has heard all the jokes about how he's been in college since Dean Smith was still roaming the sidelines. His long and productive career is finally in its home stretch, but if this game was any indication, he's going to squeeze every last drop out of it.

Bacot was simply too much for Wagner's overmatched frontcourt to handle, putting up a 20-15 line that looked even easier than the stat line suggests. There have been stretches this year where Bacot has taken a back seat to Davis, and even to Harrison Ingram, who actually outrebounded him in ACC play. Carolina is at its best, though, when it works inside-out, collapsing the defense with Bacot's ability to drive, post up, and finish with either hand.

Most teams have no choice but to double the big man when he gets going, and that opens the court for every other Tar Heel. Bacot averaged just 1.5 assists per game this year, but his improvement in passing out of the double team has been apparent to anyone who watches the games. He's also incredibly adept at getting opposing bigs into foul trouble, which he demonstrated in this game.

We've seen teams like NC State, with bruising center DJ Burns, and Duke, with versatile big man Kyle Filipowski, make Bacot work hard on both ends of the floor. The Spartans are a perimeter-based team, and can only throw offensive non-factors Carson Cooper and Mady Sissoko at him. This should keep Bacot out of foul trouble himself, and allow him to devote more energy to the offensive end, where he makes such a big difference.

Michigan State has traditionally been known as one of the nation's most voracious rebounding teams, but this year's Spartans are average on the boards. Bacot and Harrison Ingram should be able to dominate there, and those extra possessions they create could make the difference.