Plumlee sheds mask against Seahawks, citing sense of urgency

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—There were only a few minutes left in the first half, but Marshall Plumlee could not wait any longer.

Despite saying Wednesday that he had spent the past week adjusting to the protective mask covering his broken nose, the 7-footer unstrapped the velcro off of the transparent mask during a timeout and never picked it up again.

“Getting rid of it was more of a mindset than anything,” Plumlee said.

Plumlee played one of his worst games of the season in his first game with the mask in the ACC tournament quarterfinals against Notre Dame, including four missed free throws that bore little resemblance to the polished stroke the Warsaw, Ind., native has developed at the charity stripe this season. He had just four points and two rebounds in the first half against UNC-Wilmington Thursday, most of which came with the mask.

On the first possession without the mask, Plumlee grabbed a rebound. Then after intermission, he exploded for 19 points, with most of them coming off dunks in transition against the Seahawk press on his way to a career-high 23-point outing.

Plumlee is a graduate student and a loss away from seeing his career end. He understands full-well that his nose is broken, but he said he may hedge his bets Saturday without a mask.

“You worry about re-breaking it and getting sidelined. I guess theoretically it’s more vulnerable right now to a loose ball [or a] wayward elbow,” Plumlee said. “[But] there’s a collective sense of urgency that this is our last go at this as a group, and you want to give it all you have.”

A productive Plumlee will be critical Saturday—Duke defeated Yale 80-61 Nov. 25 but got nine points and 12 rebounds from forward Amile Jefferson, who is out for the season with a fractured right foot. The Bulldogs outrebounded a tall, physical Baylor team Thursday afternoon and will likely pound the glass again Saturday.