NC State guard Michael O'Connell briefly leaves Final Four vs. Purdue after getting banged up falling on fast break
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.
O’Connell was evaluated further at the half
After being reevaluated at halftime, O’Connell’s status was been downgraded to questionable and head coach Kevin Keatts only put him on the court as necessary.
“An update on Michael O’Connell,” Wolfson said before the second half. “He has been downgraded to questionable with that left hamstring. Keatts telling me ‘He could be used sparingly’ but right now, he’s out.”
O’Connell finished with 3 points on a 1-for-1 shooting performance with a rebound and an assist in just 12 minutes of play.
Purdue is off to the national championship
The Boilermakers put together a dominant defensive performance Saturday to defeat NC State by a score of 63-50 in the Final Four and advance to the national championship.
Center Zach Edey led Purdue with 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks in the win. The Boilermakers defense held the Wolfpack to just 36.8% shooting on the evening and never trailed the entire contest.
After leading 35-29 at the half, Purdue quickly expand its lead to double digits to start off the second half. NC State hung within striking distance for around the first 10 minutes, but the Boilermakers took over down the stretch to go on a 14-1 run from the 7:28 to 2:52 mark and go up as many as 20 points.