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Duke’s Marvin Bagley III exits Michigan State showdown with right eye injury

Utah Valley v Duke

DURHAM, NC - NOVEMBER 11: Marvin Bagley III #35 of the Duke Blue Devils goes up for a dunk against the Utah Valley Wolverines at Cameron Indoor Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 99-69. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)

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CHICAGO -- Duke freshman big man Marvin Bagley III exited Tuesday night’s Champions Classic showdown against Michigan State and won’t return to the game after getting poked in the right eye midway through the first half.

The potential No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, the 6-foot-10 Bagley was going for a defensive rebound when teammate Javin DeLaurier poked him in the right eye. Bagley instantly hit the floor and was attended to by Duke medical personnel as he was taken back to the locker room and didn’t return to the floor for the rest of the first half.

Bagley was held out of the second half as a precautionary measure. The freshman returned to the Duke bench for the second half but Bagley didn’t participate in the second-half warmups with the team. In the postgame press conference, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski described Bagley’s injury as a “scratched eye” as the team didn’t want to bring him back for the second half. Bagley finished the night with four points and six rebounds in 10 minutes.

“His eye was starting to shut. At first, he had a hard time seeing out of the eye (but now) he can see out of it,” Krzyzewski said.

Duke plays its next game on Friday when they host Southern at home. If Bagley’s eye injury has any lingering issues, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Blue Devils held him out until the PK80 Invitational, which begins on Thanksgiving.

“I think he will [play],” Krzyzewski said when asked about Bagley’s status for Friday.