Brad Underwood Updates Illinois' Injury Status Ahead of Alabama Game

Illinois men's basketball’s injury report reads like an alarming grocery store receipt. It just keeps going. Ahead of the team's showdown against Alabama on Wednesday at the United Center in Chicago (8 p.m. CT, FS1), the battered and bruised Illini consist of big man Tomislav Ivisic Nov 19, 2025, Zvonimir, Illinois Fighting Illini Mihailo Petrovic and Brandon Lee.

Just before the Illini shoved off for the Windy City, Underwood provided updates on each in a Tuesday press conference. (One note: Although Underwood didn’t provide an update on wing Ty Rodgers, he continues to recover from a knee injury, and will almost certainly remain sidelined against the Crimson Tide.)

Brad Underwood on Illinois injuries

“We’ve [been] getting a little bit healthier," Underwood said. "We’ve had guys in practice and sustaining throughout practice, which is nice. We’ll see where Tomi’s status is, as he is basically going through what Andrej went through – a reaction to his performance the day before … whether it’s rest or the ability to go.

“Brandon’s back. He’s still not quite 100 percent but is playing through some pain. And then Mihailo’s had a couple of good days here in practice, so we’ll see what that looks like with his ability to play on Wednesday. So, closer – nicer to get healthier. Then we’ll see how all of that plays out. Z had kind of an unfortunate bump with Cam during that timeout, which hit a little sore spot on his knee and flared up and got it swollen. So he’s trending in the right direction as well.”

Underwood dives deeper on Tomislav Ivisic's injury with Jon Rothstein

In an interview with CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, Underwood provided a longer, more in-depth update on Tomislav Ivisic's knee injury.

“Everything with him is, because it’s a knee, the reaction – and he’s got a bone bruise. So it becomes a reaction to what he does that day in practice … and we were fortunate that it wasn’t more severe. We feel good about the way he’s progressing. Tomi’s a very, very, very tough kid. So, I know no one’s more competitive. No one wants to be out there more than him. But we’ll see. We’ll see. He’s doing light stuff and moving around better now than he was two or three days ago. And he did more in this morning’s practice than he did yesterday, and we’ll see how he reacts.”