North Carolina's Armando Bacot was No. 2 on CBS Sports' annual list of the Top 100 And 1 college basketball players heading into this season, which I believe garnered more pushback from fans than any other ranking of any other player.
Was Bacot No. 2 on my ballot?
No.
That's slightly higher than I had him. But I did have the 6-foot-11 center at No. 4 and never really understood the controversy connected to his No. 2 ranking because — perhaps the Tar Heels' struggles in general last season made some forget, but — Bacot is undeniably a tremendous college basketball player, one of the very best, and he provided a reminder Sunday by finishing with 22 points and 20 rebounds in UNC's 90-68 victory over Lehigh.
It was the third 20-20 game of Bacot's career.
"It is what is required and needed to be the best we can be," said North Carolina coach Hubert Davis. "There's a sense of urgency [present this season] that I haven't [previously] seen in him."
Bacot is now averaging 23.5 points and 16.5 rebounds through two contests for North Carolina, which is No. 21 in Monday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. He is shooting 60.0% from the field and on track to be an All-American for the second straight year.
Next up for UNC is Friday's game against UC Riverside. After that, the Tar Heels will compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis, where they'll open with Northern Iowa and then play Villanova or Texas Tech before closing the three-game event with a contest against either Arkansas, Memphis, Michigan or Stanford.
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Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 99-61 win over Manhattan. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday against Kentucky. | -- | 23-11 |
| 2 |  | Zach Edey finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 87-57 win over Morehead State. The Boilermakers' next game is Monday against Xavier. | -- | 34-5 |
| 3 |  | Keshad Johnson finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 78-73 win at Duke. The Wildcats' next game is Monday against Southern. | -- | 27-9 |
| 4 |  | Duke gave up 15 offensive rebounds in Friday's 78-73 loss to Arizona. The Blue Devils' next game is Tuesday against Michigan State. | -- | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | Vladislav Goldin finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 75-62 win over Loyola Chicago. The Owls' next game is Tuesday against Eastern Michigan. | -- | 25-9 |
| 6 |  | Kam Jones finished with 23 point and six rebounds in Friday's 95-65 win over Rider. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday at Illinois. | -- | 27-10 |
| 7 |  | J'Wan Roberts finished with 17 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 82-50 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Cougars' next game is Monday against Stetson. | -- | 32-5 |
| 8 |  | Tristen Newton finished with 22 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 107-67 win over Stonehill. The Huskies' next game is Tuesday against Mississippi Valley State. | -- | 37-3 |
| 9 |  | Trey Alexander finished with 21 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 89-60 win over North Dakota State. The Bluejays' next game is Tuesday against Iowa. | -- | 25-10 |
| 10 |  | Wooga Poplar finished with 23 points and four rebounds in Friday's 88-72 win over UCF. The Hurricanes' next game is Monday against Florida International. | -- | 15-17 |
| 11 |  | Khalif Battle finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Friday's 86-68 win over Gardner-Webb. The Razorbacks' next game is Monday against Old Dominion. | -- | 16-17 |
| 12 |  | Isaiah Collier finished with 19 points and 5 assists in Thursday's 85-59 win over Cal State Bakersfield. The Trojans' next game is Tuesday against UC Irvine. | -- | 15-18 |
| 13 |  | Dalton Knecht finished with 24 points and five rebounds in Friday's 80-70 win at Wisconsin. The Vols' next game is Tuesday against Wofford. | -- | 27-9 |
| 14 |  | Wade Taylor IV finished with 21 points and four assists in Friday's 73-66 win at Ohio State. The Aggies' next game is Tuesday at SMU. | -- | 21-15 |
| 15 |  | Jaden Akins finished with 13 points and seven rebounds in Thursday's 74-51 win over Southern Indiana. The Spartans' next game is Tuesday against Duke. | -- | 20-15 |
| 16 |  | Antonio Reeves finished with 21 points and six rebounds in Friday's 81-61 win over Texas A&M-Commerce. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Kansas. | -- | 23-10 |
| 17 |  | Ja'Kobe Walter finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in Sunday's 77-62 win over Gardner-Webb. The Bears' next game is Tuesday against UMKC. | -- | 24-11 |
| 18 |  | Anton Watson finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds in Friday's 86-71 win over Yale. The Zags' next game is Tuesday against Eastern Oregon. | -- | 27-8 |
| 19 |  | Max Abmas finished with 19 points and five assists in Friday's 86-59 win over Delaware State. The Longhorns' next game is Wednesday against Rice. | -- | 21-13 |
| 20 |  | Jahvon Quinerly finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 70-55 win at Missouri. The Tigers' next game is Friday against Alabama State. | 1 | 22-10 |
| 21 |  | Armando Bacot finished with 22 points and 20 rebounds in Sunday's 90-68 win over Lehigh. The Tar Heels' next game is Friday against UC Riverside. | 1 | 29-8 |
| 22 |  | Terrence Shannon finished with 15 points and five assists in Friday's 64-53 win over Oakland. The Illini's next game is Tuesday against Marquette. | 1 | 29-9 |
| 23 |  | Justin Moore finished with 21 points and two rebounds in Friday's 83-57 win over Le Moyne. The Wildcats' next game is Monday at Penn. | 1 | 18-16 |
| 24 |  | Joel Soriano finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's 90-74 win over Stony Brook. The Red Storm's next game is Monday against Michigan. | 1 | 20-13 |
| 25 |  | Grant Nelson finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 102-80 win over Indiana State. The Crimson Tide's next game is Tuesday against South Alabama. | 1 | 25-12 |
| 26 |  | Keshon Gilbert finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Sunday's 86-55 win over Idaho State. The Cyclones' next game is Sunday against Grambling State. | NR | 29-8 |
