Ohio State forward Jared Sullinger suffered a foot injury in the first half against South Carolina.

Sullinger limped to the locker room less than five minutes into the first half.

X-Rays revealed there is no fracture in Sullinger’s foot.

He returned to the court on crutches during the second half.

Ohio State’s Aaron Craft remains the country's foremost all-around turnover creator. Craft is forcing 9.03 per 100 possessions.

Against USC-Upstate on Wednesday night, Craft had five box-score steals and one forced travel, harried a guard into throwing away a pass, and had the key knock away in a loose-ball scramble.

Ohio State team physician Grant Jones said there is a chance Jared Sullinger will return for Saturday’s game at South Carolina.

“It’s more likely going to be Saturday at the earliest that we can see his progress in terms of contact-type activities,” Jones said. “We’re going to make sure he’s fully recovered. The one thing we don’t want to do is put him back (on the court) too early, which could cause a setback, and if you get a setback now, that could mean a couple more weeks.”

Sullinger has not played since a Nov. 29 win over Duke due to back spasms.

Jared Sullinger has had significant success with post-up moves in the Buckeyes offense this season.

Video review shows that he is getting to the foul line nearly 40 percent of the time on post-up plays, going 26-for-28 when he gets there.

When he gets his shot off, he’s making it better than half of the time.

Ohio State guard Aaron Craft is tied for the Big Ten lead with 23 steals and is forcing turnovers at a high rate-- 28 percent of the time as an on-ball defender.

He has been most effective in creating miscues when defending the pick-and-roll ball handler.

Craft is forcing a turnover on 39 percent of those plays, which is tops in the Big 12 and sixth-best in the nation (minimum 15 plays reviewed).

Jared Sullinger has had to deal with back spasms this season, but he hasn't been bothered by a sophomore slump.

His efficiency has improved, as he's shooting 10 percentage points higher on twos (65.7 percent) than he did as a freshman, and 13 percentage points higher on free throws (83.3).

Ohio State coach Thad Matta saw Sullinger's MRI on Friday, which showed an aggravated disk.

"I feel as at that point I'm Dr. Thad because of all the rooms I've been in, all the operating rooms, recovery rooms," Matta said after the Buckeyes' 64-35 win over Texas Pan-American. "Just as they were going through the testing I'm going, 'That's good, that's good, that's good' and saying that from my own experiences."

Matta said Sullinger — averaging 19.1 points and 10.3 rebounds this season — will be reevaluated Monday or Tuesday. No. 2 Ohio State (8-0) next plays at No. 15 Kansas on Dec. 10.

Sullinger's father, Satch, told The Columbus Dispatch that the spasms might be related to plantar fasciitis, an inflammation in the band between the heel and ball of the foot.

Back spasms will force Jared Sullinger out of Saturday's game against Texas-Pan American.

Ohio State will have a week off to rest following the UTPA game before playing Kansas on Dec. 10th.