Basketball
Kylan Boswell returns to practice with home stretch approaching
Boswell has missed the past six games for the Illini who are 5-1 in that time frame.
It has been three weeks since Kylan Boswell was announced to have fractured his right hand while trying to get a loose ball in practice. In a recent media appearance on February 9th, Illini head coach Brad Underwood shared that Boswell will be participating in practice and has a doctor’s appointment later this week for further follow-up. Though he will practice, he remains out for the Tuesday night game vs the Wisconsin Badgers. After the battle vs Wisconsin, Illinois plays a home game on Sunday, February 15th vs Indiana before heading out west to play both USC and UCLA.
When the news first came out, Underwood stated that they expect to miss Boswell for at least a month. One month from the injury comes after the game vs Indiana, however, before the West Coast games.
Impressive play without their senior leader
Since Boswell has been out, the Illini have valiantly battled to stay afloat and have won five of the six games. The Illini have actually picked up some impressive victories without Boswell, most notably on the road vs Purdue and Nebraska. Despite the success, the Illini truly miss Kylan Boswell, and that was evident in the loss to Michigan State. They needed someone to help with ball-handling and rim-pressure, as freshman guard Keaton Wagler was struggling. Boswell also would have been helpful to have, as they had difficulty guarding Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr.
Hopefully, Boswell can return as soon as possible in an effective manner, as the Illini are second in the Big Ten and need to win games to stay on par with the red-hot Michigan Wolverines. As of now, it seems likely that Boswell should be available for the February 27th home game vs Michigan.
