Duke basketball freshman guard Jared McCain needs stitches before ACC Tournament game

A strange Duke basketball injury has occurred in March. Stop me if you have heard that before.

But even for Blue Devils standards, this one is bizarre.

Jared McCain collided heads with teammate Jaylen Blakes in pregame warmups and starting leaking blood above his right eye. The rookie went back to the locker room as the cut required stitches, causing him to be late on the court as the team continued warmups.

McCain has a large bandage over his right eye but was still in the starting lineup when the ball was thrown up in the ACC Tournament quarterfinal against North Carolina State.

He didn't know he was bleeding until notified by a member of the Duke basketball coaching staff, smiling as he was evaluated by the Blue Devils medical staff.

Blakes was fine after the collision and required no medical attention.

The McDonald's All-American has not missed a game for the Blue Devils this season and has started every single contest, averaging 13.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game, while shooting 45.8-percent from the field and 40.6-percent from 3-point range.

McCain had 16 points and five rebounds when Duke defeated North Carolina State ten days ago in Raleigh and added 19 points for the Blue Devils in its loss to North Carolina on Saturday night in Durham.

He scored the first points of the game for the Blue Devils on Thursday night at the free throw line.

Duke is already playing without freshman guard Caleb Foster, who suffered a lower leg injury against Wake Forest in late February and has not been close to a return, according to head coach Jon Scheyer.

The Blue Devils would play either Boston College or Virginia in the ACC Tournament Semifinals on Friday night if it were to beat the Wolfpack.