No. 8 Illinois men's basketball is coming off a tough 92-90 OT loss to Wisconsin. On Sunday, they have a critical matchup against Indiana, but will Kylan Boswell be available?
On Friday, head coach Brad Underwood said Boswell's potential return will be a game-day decision, per Pete Thamel of ESPN. Also, he will be unrestricted in practice.
In January, Boswell fractured his hand during a team practice. Boswell is averaging 14.3 points per game and is shooting 47.8% from the field. Meanwhile, Illinois is 20-5 and has a Big Ten record of 11-3.
The last time he played was on Jan. 17 against Minnesota, in which the Illini won 77-67. In that game, he played 30 minutes and scored 9 points.
Illinois has suffered back-to-back overtime losses, including to No. 10 Michigan State on Feb. 7, 85-82.
After Sunday, the Illini will have five games left on their regular-season schedule. On Wednesday, Feb. 18, they will hit the road to play USC. Afterwards, they will remain in California to play UCLA on Feb. 21.
On Friday, Feb. 27, they will be back home to take on No. 2 Michigan. Then, the Illini will play against Oregon on Mar. 3. Finally, the Illini will close out the regular season against Maryland on Mar. 8.
Boswell is in his senior season. At the beginning of the year, he was a catalyst for the Illini getting off to a hot start, not just in the realm of scoring, but also for being a lockdown defender.
Along the way, he has seen increases in his field goal and 3-point shooting percentages from the year prior. Last season, Boswell shot 42.7% from the field. Also, he shot 24.5% from the 3-point line and is currently 30.8%.
