Gonzaga star Przemek Karnowski leaves Final Four with eye injury

Gonzaga center Przemeke Karnowski went to the locker room early in the first half of the Final Four after suffering an eye injury

The Gonzaga Bulldogs have arguably the best team in the history of their program, evidenced by their first-ever appearance in the Final Four. As they took the floor in Phoenix on Saturday night for their matchup with the South Carolina Gamecocks, they had the clear advantage. However, no single player may have been a worse matchup for Frank Martin’s team than their center, Przemek Karnowski.

Standing at 7-1 and weighing in at 300 pounds, Karnowski is an absolute tank on the interior. He also happens to be incredibly skilled for a big man of his size. It was simply his size and girth that presented the biggest issue for South Carolina, though, as they have no one on the roster to match it. Unfortunately for the Zags, they didn’t have that advantage to end the first half.

While going up on the interior with about five minutes left on the clock to try and get a bucket, he had his shot blocked. But on the follow-through on the block caused the Gamecocks defender to essentially slap the Bulldogs big man in the face. In doing so, he took at least a poke to the eye and went down to the floor.

After being looked at and helped off, he was then taken to the locker room before the end of the half:

There’s good news for Gonzaga, though. On the CBS broadcast, they said that the Gonzaga staff expected Karnowski to return in the second half.

Next: 28 Most Memorable Buzzer Beaters in March Madness History

Even better for the Bulldogs, though, his absence didn’t affect them. In fact, the Zags pulled ahead of South Carolina even further, thanks to terrific play from Nigel Williams-Goss. As a result, they took a nine-point lead into halftime.

Update

Karnowski saw an eye specialist after going back to the locker room. As they said on the broadcast they expected him to, he will return.