Armando Bacot shares emotions of reaching Final Four

North Carolina star forward Armando Bacot spoke about the emotions he felt when he realized that the Tar Heels were going to reach the Final Four. North Carolina defeated St. Peter’s in the Elite Eight to earn their trip to New Orleans, setting up a Final Four matchup against their rival Duke. Bacot finished the game with 20 points and 22 rebounds, on a night where he tied NBA Hall of Famer Tim Duncan’s double-double record in the ACC.

Armando Bacot on making the Final Four

Going into the game, Bacot and the Tar Heels knew that a win would earn them a trip to the Final Four. After the win, Bacot was asked how it felt immediately after the game knowing that they were advancing — and if it was any different than he expected to feel.

“I would just say even from the beginning of the year, I mean that was one of our biggest goals to just get to the Final Four,” said Bacot. “We never wanted to look past Saint Peter’s because they’ve been a great team and they beat two teams that beat us. But towards the end, once I realized we were really going to the Final Four, it started to sink in and definitely started getting emotional. Me and all the players and the coaches too, because we battled through so much this year. And just to have the fight and adversity just to get through all this, it was special.”

Now, in head coach Hubert Davis’ first year as coach of the Tar Heels, Bacot and his teammates are reaching for another legacy in their school’s history. North Carolina’s first Final Four appearance since winning the national championship in 2017 could see them play spoiler to Duke’s storybook tournament run. With coach Mike Krzyzewski coaching his final season at Duke, North Carolina already defeated the Blue Devils in his final career home game. If they can beat them in New Orleans, North Carolina will always be able to claim they won the final game of Coach K’s career.

Bacot ties Tim Duncan record

With his 10th point of the night against St. Peter’s, Bacot tied former Wake Forest big Tim Duncan’s 29 double-doubles, recorded in 1996-97, which is the existing single-season ACC record.

Although Bacot has a long way to go to achieve Duncan-levels of career success, he’s making his own mark on ACC history. His 12.6 rebounding average this season ranks third all-time for the Tar Heels. He was a first-team All-ACC selection this season and finished second in the voting for player of the year.

With at least one more game on the horizon this season, Bacot could surpass Duncan this weekend. He’s currently on a hot streak with six consecutive double-double performances. He posted 14 points and 15 boards versus UCLA to help send North Carolina to the Elite Eight.

On3’s Nikki Chavanelle contributed to this article.