Illinois' Brad Underwood Addresses Keaton Wagler's Shoulder Before Michigan Game

Underwood on Thursday offered the closest thing to an update that could be expected on Wagler's banged-up shoulder

Feb 21, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Illinois guard Keaton Wagler (23) tries to score between UCLA guards Donovan Dent (left) and Eric Freeny (8) during the second half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Nearly every moment of Keaton Wagler's magical freshman season has drawn swoons, smiles or stunned head shakes, but in the first half of Illinois' overtime loss at UCLA last Saturday, Illini Nation let out a collective gasp when things appeared to take a potentially drastic turn for the worse.

With 8:22 left in the first half against the Bruins, Wagler was fouled by UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau and sent hard to the floor. He rose holding his left shoulder, and rather than take his earned free throws, he headed to the locker room with an Illini trainer.

Wagler returned to the game after roughly five minutes and was more than effective. He finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two blocks – though he shot 5-for-15 on field-goal attempts, including 1-for-6 on threes.

“When I fell down I landed with my hands straight down on the floor,” Wagler said after the game. “It was kind of just like a stinger. It hurt in the moment, but then once I got back out there, adrenaline kicked in. It’s feeling better now.”

No biggie, right? Please. We're talking about the shoo-in Big Ten Freshman of the Year and dark horse Big Ten Player of the Year candidate – the straw that stirs the drink of a possible Final Four contender. We were all gonna need an update on Wagler's condition heading into Friday's Michigan game (7 p.m. CT, FOX). In Illini coach Brad Underwood's Thursday press conference, we got one:

Brad Underwood provides update on Keaton Wagler shoulder injury

"He's had a lot of treatment," Underwood said of Wagler. "There's no doubt it was a hard, hard fall. It's a part of basketball. I think it shows how tough he is. It was a pretty good stinger – a little jolt through the shoulder and neck. But he's dedicated. He's tougher than heck."

That's neither a clean bill of health nor a declaration of Wagler's availability (or lack thereof) for Michigan. Pretty typical of Underwood, who isn't going to tip his hand on these matters.

Given that it's Wagler's non-shooting shoulder, the fact that he finished Saturday's game and that he'll have had almost a full week of physio and recovery, it seems more than likely he'll be ready to go for the Wolverines. But we'll be sure to publish an update as soon as the Big Ten releases Friday's availability report.