An early injury has struck NC State during a Final Four matchup with Purdue on Saturday evening, as guard Michael O’Connell left the game with an apparent lower-body injury less than 10 minutes into the game. O’Connell appeared to hurt himself tripping on a fast break.
After checking out of the game, O’Connell was quickly taken back to the tunnel or locker room for further treatment, per the TBS broadcast. As he left the floor, O’Connell was walking gingerly and was favoring his left leg and hamstring after his tumble.
He returned to the action after missing several minutes but quickly checked back out again, appearing incapable of moving comfortably enough to be as effective as needed.
Replays showed that O’Connell tripped up of his own accord and he appeared to twist an ankle along with tweaking his hamstring.
After several minutes in the locker room, the TBS broadcast added that O’Connell had come back to the bench. Sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson added that O’Connell had gone into a black tent and gotten some massaging and stretching from trainers before returning to the floor.
Once he checked out after testing the leg, O’Connell was taken from the bench for more treatment, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
The post NC State guard Michael O’Connell briefly leaves Final Four vs. Purdue after getting banged up falling on fast break appeared first on On3.