Report: X-rays on Armando Bacot's ankle come back negative, timeline still unclear

In the opening moments of North Carolina‘s loss to Virginia, center Armando Bacot rolled his ankle when fighting for a rebound. He hobbled off the court and to the locker room before being ruled out for the remainder of the game.

One day later, there is positive news to share on Bacot. According to Jeff Goodman of Stadium, Bacot’s X-rays came back negative. Although there is no timeline on when Bacot could return for the Tar Heels’, there being no further injury is a promising sign.

BREAKING: North Carolina star Armando Bacot’s X-rays on his ankle came back negative, source told @Stadium,” Goodman said. “Huge news for the Tar Heels. Still uncertain how long Bacot will be out, need to wait for swelling to subside.”

While North Carolina was able to get off to a fast start against Virginia without Bacot, they were not able to maintain the pace. Eventually, three pointers began to fall for the Cavaliers and UNC dropped another ACC game against an important foe.

As for Bacot, he has been playing as well as anybody in the country over the past few games. Heading into Tuesday night, he had been averaging 18.8 points and 11.2 rebounds a night. Retuning to make an impact of the Tar Heels’ potential national championship hopes, Bacot had been spot in.

Louisville is next up on the schedule for North Carolina. Bacot’s status will be in the air heading into Saturday’s game.

Armando Bacot suffers ankle injury vs. Virginia

Arguably the game of the night in college basketball took place in Charlottesville with Virginia playing host to North Carolina. Consistently one of the best matchups in the ACC, stars were all over the court, including Bacot for a short period.

However, the Tar Heels star got into some injury trouble early in the game. When going up for a rebound, Bacot came down on his ankle weird and seemed to roll it. While he stayed on the court for a short bit, he was able to limp off toward the bench.

Shortly after, ESPN play by play man Dan Shulman reported Bacot was no longer on the sideline and was heading to the locker room.

Another positive note — it’s not the same ankle that bothered Bacot during the Tar Heels’ run to the Final Four. Tuesday night sees the left ankle being a problem while the right ankle bothered him down in New Orlean