Plumlee suffers broken nose against N.C. State

WASHINGTON—In a season filled with nagging injuries and constant nicks for a depth-challenged Duke team, Marshall Plumlee had been one of the few Blue Devils to maintain a clean bill of health.

Entering Wednesday's ACC tournament clash with N.C. State, Plumlee was the only Duke player to start all 31 games this season, and he had avoided the blows that temporarily sidelined many of his teammates.

The graduate student can no longer make that claim, however, after suffering what head coach Mike Krzyzewski called a broken nose in the second half of the Blue Devils' 92-89 victory against the Wolfpack. With eight minutes left to play, Plumlee rose up for a rebound in a crowd of players and caught a nasty elbow from teammate Matt Jones directly in the face.

"Marshall was a fighter. I had to tell him ‘Sorry’ because it was my elbow," Jones said. "At the moment, [I didn't know it was me] but after the game [my elbow] was numb a little, and then seeing Marshall’s nose, I knew that I was the culprit of that, so I kind of felt bad."

Plumlee exited the game for a few minutes and after being looked at by the team medical staff, returned to the floor for the final 5:26 and made the game-winning basket. As the elder statesman on a team that relies heavily on its freshmen, the display of toughness reinforced a message the Warsaw, Ind., native has been driving home to his teammates all season.

"Marshall has been a great emotional leader for us all year long. We know how tough he is. We know he battled down there in the post," sophomore Grayson Allen said. "To see him come in, he's got blood dripping down his face, he's still out there yelling like a maniac, it fires the team up. That's what he's been doing all year. He's been great at providing energy and using his voice and emotion he has on the floor."

Plumlee was not available to speak to the media after the game and his status for the Blue Devils' contest with fourth-seeded Notre Dame Thursday is uncertain. The big man could opt to wear a special mask for the game to provide protection from any further injuries to his face.