UNC:’ I’M LEAVING” Armando Bacot accepted $55 million 2 years contract to depart from North Carolina Tar Heels…

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Armando Bacot could not take his mind off the game on Tuesday.

Maybe that was the last time he would hear PA announcer Tony Gilliam call his name as one of the starting five as he ran out of the tunnel in the Dean E. Smith Center. He claimed not to be depressed in spite of that. Christie Lomax, his mother, even remarked that he seemed calm before the game.

“I would say that his emotions were still,” Lomax said. “He had made his peace with this being the last home game.”

But as Bacot sat down after an 84-51 win over Notre Dame on senior night, and began to reflect on his five-year career at UNC, it finally hit him.

“It’s just crazy to think like,” Armando Bacot said, taking a moment to collect his emotions. “Just this being my last game here and how far I’ve come. I didn’t know I was going to start crying.”

In Bacot’s farewell at the Smith Center on Tuesday, the all-time leading rebounder in UNC history collected five boards and scored 14 points. It wasn’t his best night — he fell five rebounds shy of a double-double. But by playing in his 162nd game, he broke the all-time ACC record for games played and he treated the UNC faithful to something that he had never done before.

The night slowed for Bacot in the first half. He said his legs felt weak and he felt weird on the court knowing it was his last home game. He could only muster up three points and three rebounds, including an uncharacteristic missed dunk with nine minutes to go in the first half.