Hubert Davis expects Armando Bacot to be available for UNC on Wednesday

It was a weekend to forget for UNC, as the then top-ranked Tar Heels suffered their first two losses of the season. Additionally, in Sunday’s game against Alabama, star center Armando Bacot suffered an apparent ankle injury that kept him off the floor late in the game.

Luckily for UNC, it appears as if Bacot avoided any significant injury. Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis spoke to reporters on Tuesday, where he provided an encouraging update on the status of Bacot for Wednesday’s game against the Indiana Hoosiers.

“Yeah, I mean everybody practiced today,” Davis said. “We didn’t go long, but everyone practiced today.”

Additionally, Davis was specifically asked if Bacot is expected to be on the floor against Indiana. Davis said that he does in fact expect his star player to be on the court.

“As of right now, yes,” Davis responded.

UNC and Alabama went head-to-head for four overtimes on Sunday, but as the game continued on and overtimes continued, Bacot wasn’t on the floor. He felt a “sharp pain” in his right ankle, and was hobbled while doing interviews after the game.

Luckily, though, Bacot doesn’t appear to have suffered any sort of serious injury. That is welcome news for the Tar Heels, as Bacot has again proven to be one of the top players in all of college basketball.

Through seven games this season, Bacot is averaging 16.7 points per game with 11.3 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.1 assists. He is shooting 56.7% from the floor and 67.2% from the free throw line.

UNC started the season off with a perfect 5-0 record, though many of those games came in contests that were closer than the Tar Heels would have liked them to be. Against Iowa State on Friday, UNC fell short with a 70-65 defeat. Alabama, ranked No. 18 at the time, then handed the Heels their second consecutive loss on Sunday, winning 103-101 after four overtime periods.

Things don’t get any easier for UNC. After facing off against a top ten team in Indiana on Wednesday, the Tar heels hit the road for another tough game against Virginia Tech on Sunday.

After falling from No. 1 to No. 18 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll, getting back on track will be pivotal this week as the Heels look to set themselves up to go on another deep postseason run this season.