PROVIDENCE, R.I. – At the under four timeout of the first half, Marshall Plumlee did a reverse Superman, ditching his shield and tossing aside the facemask he’d been wearing to protect his broken nose.
And then he played like a man liberated, freeing fourth-seeded Duke from a would-be first round upset at the hands of UNC Wilmington, 93-85.
Ordinarily the Duke big man is the seventh offensive option in a seven-man rotation. He is there to do the dirty work and fill a spot where the Blue Devils quite literally have no other choices since Amile Jeffereson’s injury (unless you count Sean Obi.