Ohio State took a shot to the pride with Sunday's home loss to Northwestern. By the end of the game, it had also taken another to an ankle and a knee to a thigh.
Junior guard Kam Williams and sophomore guard C.J. Jackson were both injured against the Wildcats but are likely to play Wednesday night against Minnesota, coach Thad Matta said Tuesday - but he stopped short of guaranteeing it. Asked about Jackson, Matta said he is "better. Still a little bit gimpy but it's something you can't make it worse. He'll be ready to go tomorrow night, I think."
Williams, meanwhile, spoke with reporters alongside freshman center Micah Potter and described his level of pain.
"I'll be all right," Williams said when asked about his health. "I'll be fine. It's definitely a very annoying thing because you feel it every time you walk, but I'll be fine. I just got a real bad knee to the thigh, ironically not where the pads are."
Jackson's injury occurred during the first half and he had to be helped to the locker room but he returned to play for much of the second half. Williams was noticeably limping for most of the second half but did not miss any significant amount of time against Northwestern.
Williams played all but four second-half minutes and Jackson played half of it. Williams was 0 for 4 during the second half while Jackson was 2 for 2 from the field and the free-throw line to add seven points.
"Every time you put pressure on your foot you feel it immediately," Williams said of his injury. "Whenever I get a pain like that, when it comes to the game I try to put everything into adrenaline mode so you block it out. During the game I felt it but I didn't really feel it as much but after the game, when they put the ice on, it's the worst feeling in the world."
The game is the second in a stretch of three in six days for the Buckeyes, who go to Iowa on Saturday. Ohio State is already without Keita Bates-Diop, who Wednesday will have season-ending surgery for a stress fracture in his shin. Freshman Derek Funderburk is redshirting, giving Matta nine available recruited players including the hobbled Jackson and Williams.
They didn't look to be the only two Buckeyes fighting through injuries, but Matta said it's nothing out of the ordinary for this time of season.
"Yeah, I mean, my foot hurts," he said. "We've got go play. Yeah, we are a little dinged up, but it is what it is."
Junior guard Kam Williams and sophomore guard C.J. Jackson were both injured against the Wildcats but are likely to play Wednesday night against Minnesota, coach Thad Matta said Tuesday - but he stopped short of guaranteeing it. Asked about Jackson, Matta said he is "better. Still a little bit gimpy but it's something you can't make it worse. He'll be ready to go tomorrow night, I think."
Williams, meanwhile, spoke with reporters alongside freshman center Micah Potter and described his level of pain.
"I'll be all right," Williams said when asked about his health. "I'll be fine. It's definitely a very annoying thing because you feel it every time you walk, but I'll be fine. I just got a real bad knee to the thigh, ironically not where the pads are."
Jackson's injury occurred during the first half and he had to be helped to the locker room but he returned to play for much of the second half. Williams was noticeably limping for most of the second half but did not miss any significant amount of time against Northwestern.
Williams played all but four second-half minutes and Jackson played half of it. Williams was 0 for 4 during the second half while Jackson was 2 for 2 from the field and the free-throw line to add seven points.
"Every time you put pressure on your foot you feel it immediately," Williams said of his injury. "Whenever I get a pain like that, when it comes to the game I try to put everything into adrenaline mode so you block it out. During the game I felt it but I didn't really feel it as much but after the game, when they put the ice on, it's the worst feeling in the world."
The game is the second in a stretch of three in six days for the Buckeyes, who go to Iowa on Saturday. Ohio State is already without Keita Bates-Diop, who Wednesday will have season-ending surgery for a stress fracture in his shin. Freshman Derek Funderburk is redshirting, giving Matta nine available recruited players including the hobbled Jackson and Williams.
They didn't look to be the only two Buckeyes fighting through injuries, but Matta said it's nothing out of the ordinary for this time of season.
"Yeah, I mean, my foot hurts," he said. "We've got go play. Yeah, we are a little dinged up, but it is what it is."
