Neck Injury Sidelines Ohio State’s Burson

Ohio State guard Jay Burson was hospitalized Wednesday with a neck injury he suffered during Monday night’s game against Iowa, a team physician said.

Dr. Robert Murphy said Burson, the Buckeyes’ leading scorer this season, suffered a fracture of the body of the fifth cervical vertebra, tests at Ohio State University Hospital revealed. The injury does not involve Burson’s spinal cord, Murphy said.

Burson is scheduled to undergo further tests and his condition will be evaluated within the next two days, Murphy said.

Jim Burson, Jay’s father, who is head basketball coach at Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio, said a second medical opinion would be sought today.

“If it (the diagnosis) holds up on a second look, it would look at this point that he would not play basketball the rest of the season,” Burson’s father said.

Ohio State Coach Gary Williams said Wednesday night that Burson, a senior, first complained of the injury at halftime of the Buckeyes’ 83-75 loss at Iowa City, Iowa.

“Burson said it felt stiff at halftime and we put some heat (treatment) on it,” Williams said. “And he went out and played a great second half. It’s one of those things that when you stop playing it starts hurting.”

Williams said he was not sure how Burson was injured but indicated Burson may have been hurt during one of his layups.

“He did get hit a couple of times going in for the drive, but that’s just the way Jay plays,” Williams said. “It happens a lot to Jay. It’s not anything Iowa did, it’s just part of the game.”

Williams said that Burson would not play in Saturday’s game at Northwestern, but would not say whether he would play in any of the 16th-ranked Buckeyes’ remaining games. Burson has averaged 22.1 points per game.