Illinois (17-9, 9-7) travels to No. 11 Wisconsin (20-5, 10-4) on Tuesday after a brutal loss to now-No. 14 Michigan State (20-5, 11-3) over the weekend. The Illini did not score for the final eight and a half minutes, missing 19 straight shots. The loss added to a relatively underwhelming season so far for Illinois, and bad news ahead of Tuesday did not help that sentiment.
Morez Johnson Jr. out with broken wrist
Head coach Brad Underwood announced on Monday afternoon that freshman forward Morez Johnson Jr. broke his wrist in Saturday’s game and will be out indefinitely.
“(Johnson) will not play for a good bit,” Underwood said. “He broke his wrist in a fall on that elite blocked shot that he made. He’s in a cast. No timeline to that at this point.”
Losing Johnson is a huge blow for an Illini squad struggling to find its identity. The team has had no consistency since the start of 2025. Multiple players in and out with injuries and illness, combined with a very streaky offensive output, has been the story of the Big Ten season for Illinois.
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Johnson, one of the more consistent players as of late for the Illini, brought rim protection, rebounding, a powerful offensive presence in the paint and high energy. He started the last eight games after Underwood decided to run a two-big starting lineup with him and sophomore center Tomislav Ivišić. Now, it is likely that Johnson will miss the remainder of the regular season, with the Illini’s final game before the Big Ten tournament coming up in less than three weeks.
Rotation changes incoming
Johnson’s loss will open up frontcourt minutes, but it is still very up in the air on who exactly will slot into the lineup. Junior guard/forward Tre White has not played in the last two games despite being dressed and apparently healthy after dealing with an illness. Underwood has not given any reason for White not playing, which is odd since he started every game before getting sick.
However, Underwood indicated on Monday that White would play Tuesday. It will be White’s first real minutes in two weeks.
“(We just need) old Tre,” Underwood said. “Rebounding, guarding. That’s where he was good. He had a big game against these guys last time. He got to the foul line. But it was on cuts. It was one or two dribbles and attacking the rim and shooting open shots. He had his best practice in a long time yesterday (Sunday) … He’s really in a place that I’m really expecting good things from him.”
Sophomore forward Carey Booth, who has barely seen any action all year, will also likely see some time on the floor. However, expect a heavier load on Ivišić, White and fifth-year forward Ben Humrichous. Underwood has not seemed to like giving Booth much playing time, even when he was missing Ivišić to mono a few weeks earlier.
“I think that Carey Booth and all those guys are going to have to give us some opportunities,” Underwood said.
Wisconsin can make 3s, Illinois must change approach
Wisconsin excels at three-point shooting. The Badgers are knocking down the deep ball at a 36.6% clip, which is No. 5 in the Big Ten. They are also No. 2 in the Big Ten in volume, having attempted 702 three-pointers this season.
The only team ahead of them? Illinois. The Illini have jacked up an outrageous 787 three-pointers, but it has not paid off. They are the second-worst team in the Big Ten in three-point percentage, only hitting 31.1%.
The Illini have not shot the ball well in Underwood’s “take as many threes as possible” approach. They shoot too many bad threes outside of the flow of the offense. However, when they attacked the paint, the Illini saw success, such as in a strong first half against Michigan State and a commanding win at Minnesota (13-12, 5-9).
“Just got to drive it,” Underwood said. “We’re just settling. I think we’re 26th or (27th) in three-point rate in the country, and we’re seventh in two-point rate. We’ve got to find the paint with those opportunities and then kick it to threes. Those are the ones, catch-and-shoots, that we make.”
When the shots are not falling, Illinois must adjust. In-game adjustments did not happen in the second half against Michigan State and plenty of other games this year. The team cannot just shoot bad threes and hope they go in. Underwood acknowledged this after the loss to the Spartans, but there must be in-game implementation and execution if the Illini hope to extend their current nine-game win streak versus the Badgers.
Game time
The Illini tip-off against the Badgers in Madison at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The game is set to air on FS1.
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