The UNC basketball team had fun at the expense of the Blue Devils on Saturday night, and rightly so.
As the No. 3 Tar Heels were pulling away No. 7 Duke late in the second half, Armando Bacot backed down Kyle Filipowski in the post, spun, and got the layup to go plus a foul.
The entire sequence put North Carolina up by 11, 80-69, after the made free throw with 4:49 to play.
The Dean Dome erupted and all the attention turned to the Tar Heel players, who motioned to Filipowski that he was "too small."
Players then stomped on their celebration, symbolizing they were crushing Filipowski.
Moment of the night. Too small. pic.twitter.com/yJYra7nxcD
— Taylor Vippolis (@tvippolis) February 4, 2024
In theory, they weren't wrong as the North Carolina 5th year center was dominant with a team-high 25 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists on 10-for-13 shooting.
Filipowski, while he wasn't bad offensively with 22 points, couldn't keep up defensively with the bigger Bacot and neutralize him like Dereck Lively II did a season ago.
After the 93-84 victory, Bacot puffed out his chest and said, "At the end of the day, the ACC runs through me."
It was certainly a brash statement considering he hasn't won an outright ACC regular season title, ACC Tournament title, or ACC Player of the Year in his four seasons in Chapel Hill. Until Saturday night, he hasn't even been the best player on this North Carolina team.
Nevertheless, it was a great night for the Tar Heels and its fans as they hold all the power of winning the ACC regular season and earning the top seed in the ACC Tournament.
However, Duke and Kyle Filipowski will certainly be looking to get revenge in the second meeting of the season between the two teams on Saturday, March 9 (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.
I'm sure the celebration of the Tar Heels will be fresh in the mind of Filipowski.