CHAPEL HILL – The first question came before Armando Bacot settled into his seat inside the media room at the Dean E. Smith Center on Thursday.

“How many times have you been up there?” a reporter asked Bacot, who smiled as he prepared to answer questions about the third-ranked Tar Heels’ top-10 showdown with No. 7 Duke on Saturday (6:30 p.m., ESPN)

“Too many,” Bacot said.

Another media member chimed in: “Does the anticipation for this game ever get old?"

“No,” Bacot said. “Of course not.”

When UNC (17-4, 9-1 ACC) runs onto Roy Williams Court on Saturday, it’ll be Bacot’s final game at the Smith Center against the Blue Devils (16-4, 7-2).

The fifth-year center has experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in college basketball’s most intense rivalry. Saturday will be his 10th game against Duke.

As a freshman, Bacot saw the Tar Heels get swept by the Blue Devils. In his second year, UNC took two against Duke. Bacot's junior year provided the best memories yet with wins at Cameron Indoor Stadium and the Final Four. Last season, Bacot was on the wrong end of another sweep.

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“I definitely think I’ve kind of etched myself in the history of this rivalry,” Bacot said.

“Throughout the years, everything that’s happened, this is an atypical year for me. I think for Duke and UNC, the last few years, none of us have been ranked as high going into the rivalry on both sides. So, it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”

For Bacot, “just wanting to win” always keeps the rivalry fresh. The 261st meeting is no exception.

“I know how much it means to the fans, to us, to the former players,” he said. “It gives you bragging rights until the next time you play ‘em, so it’s one of those things where you just want to win. You grow up watching the rivalry and every time you play in it, it feels like it gets bigger and bigger.”

Even bad memories before he arrived on campus – such as Austin Rivers’ shot in 2012 and Jayson Tatum’s dunk over Kennedy Meeks in 2017 – stick with Bacot. He also recalls being at the Smith Center as a high school senior in 2019 for UNC’s win against Duke.

“It’s been so many great moments,” Bacot said. “I think that’s what makes the rivalry so good.”

His first moment as a player in the rivalry produced a sour introduction in the form of a 98-96 overtime loss to the Blue Devils in Chapel Hill.

“Oh, that was terrible. I can remember being on the bench and it was like 2-3 minutes left. Me being immature, me and (Christian Keeling) were like, ‘Man, it’s gonna be a fun time. We’re ready to beat them. We’re gonna storm Franklin (Street),’” Bacot said of that February game in 2020.

“They came back and won, and it was terrible – it was an awful experience.”

So, does he prefer beating Duke at the Smith Center or at Cameron? After a brief pause, Bacot provided his answer.

“I would say here, because it gives us more time to have fun after," he said with a smile.

Bacot will have one final shot Saturday.

“I gotta win it. I gotta go out on top,” he said. “I wanna be able to beat them two, maybe three times this year. That’s really all there is to it.”

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC basketball's Armando Bacot has mixed memories vs. Duke