Illinois' Kylan Boswell Suffers Injury Setback – How It Affects Him and the Illini

Just when things were going so well.

On Monday – two days after Illinois men's basketball (15-3, 6-1 Big Ten) turned back Minnesota to notch its seventh straight win, and on the same day the Illini moved up to No. 11 in the AP poll – senior guard Kylan Boswell suffered a right hand fracture that is expected to sideline him for about a month.

The college basketball season has a long arc, and injuries are bound to happen in every program, but the Illini had a right to believe they had already been saddled with more than their fair share of physical damage. Wing Andrej Stojakovic and point guard Mihailo Petrovic missed significant time in the preseason, guard Brandon Lee was out because of an ankle injury, and wing Ty Rodgers has been sidelined for months because of a major knee injury. That doesn't include other various bumps and bruises along the way.

With Maryland up Wednesday (6 p.m. CT, BTN), a massive road test at Purdue on deck Saturday and roughly two months before the NCAA Tournament tips off, let's take stock and weigh what Boswell's injury means to him and to his club.

How Kylan Boswell's injury hurts him

Boswell was in the midst of a potential All-Big Ten season when he broke the hand in practice Monday. He was averaging 14.3 points on 47.5 percent shooting, getting to the line for 4.3 free-throw attempts per game and shooting 81.8 percent on those shots – all career highs. Meanwhile, his valuable rebounding, assist numbers and defensive contributions were all at or around his usual levels.

Illinois guard Kylan Boswell has been on a tear in his senior season:

14.7 PPG
4.3 RPG
3.3 APG
47.5% FG
31.9% 3PT
81.7% FT

Is Boswell deserving of NBA Draft consideration?? 🤔🤔 pic.twitter.com/VL0MkytTkh
— MBB Performances (@mbbperformances) January 13, 2026

Projected by most experts as an early or mid-second-round pick in this summer's 2026 NBA Draft, he may have been playing himself into first-round consideration. If he returns with no complications, picks up roughly where he left off and helps Illinois achieve its immense potential in the postseason, his draft stock shouldn't suffer a bit from this setback. He has been incredibly durable, playing in at least 35 games each of his past three seasons – including the past two as a high-usage starter.

How Boswell's injury hurts the Illini

As strong as Boswell's numbers have been, it's impossible to quantify his value to the Illini. His ability to take over in key moments and shut down opponents' top scorers, his paint penetration, secondary ball-handling and contributions that belie his size – Boswell is a very good screener, for example – may be matched by his awareness, counsel and leadership on the floor.

#illini Kylan Boswell fractured his right hand. Out until at least Mid- February

Happened in practice

Illinois vs Maryland coming up pic.twitter.com/42dSaa3vMN
— Carson Gourdie (@GourdieReport) January 20, 2026

Petrovic and Lee should be able to replace, or at least nearly offset, certain areas of Boswell's game that will be missed by Illinois in the interim – but no one on the roster can provide the combination of skills, roster flexibility and calming presence that has been counted on from Boswell since the Champaign native returned ahead of last season as an Arizona transfer.

With an upcoming three-week stretch that, in addition to Purdue, includes road games at Nebraska and Michigan State, a West Coast trip to face USC and UCLA, plus a home game against Michigan, the timing is less than ideal for the Illini. Coach Brad Underwood said in his Tuesday press conference that he expects a mid-February return, but Boswell's absence will almost certainly have felt a lot longer by the time he hits the floor again.