CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Armando Bacot played his record 162nd in the ACC and No. 7 North Carolina beat Notre Dame 84-51 on Senior Night Tuesday to clinch at least a share of the championship. the regular season conference.
The fifth-year player who holds the school's record for rebounds and double-doubles retired to a standing ovation with about three minutes remaining.
“He's been a great leader for us,” RJ Davis, who also might have played his last home game, said of Bacot. “He's been dominant throughout his entire career here, breaking records left and right.”
Scoring his final basket at the Smith Center with a 3-pointer, Bacot finished the night with 14 points and five rebounds.
“Armando can shoot the 3-pointer, and I told him he can do it, I just want him to do it at the right time,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “He's so good around the basket that I don't want him to stop dominating the points in the paint.”
Davis, a fourth-year senior with one year of eligibility remaining due to COVID, had 22 points and six assists. He and Cormac Ryan, who scored 14 points, walked off the court to applause immediately behind Bacot.
Harrison Ingram added 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Tar Heels (24-6, 16-3).
North Carolina's fifth straight win clinched at least a share of the program's 33rd conference title.
Tae Davis led Notre Dame (12-18, 7-12) with 11 points.
Notre Dame did not hit a field goal in the second half until JR Konieczny's layup at the 13:56 mark. North Carolina led by as many as 38 points.
“Congratulations to North Carolina,” Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “It was grown men playing against little kids. We have to improve if we want to get to that level.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
