Two Illinois Players Ruled Out, Another Questionable for Florida Gulf Coast

The Illini will be down two guards and await a game-time decision on another player, which coach Brad Underwood explains

Feb 8, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood looks on during the first half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The number of injuries No. 17 Illinois (1-0) is facing just one outing into its campaign is rare, if unprecedented. Fortunately for the Illini, the majority of the injuries seem to be relatively minor and nearly all of the team's sidelined players figure to make it back onto the court within the next few weeks. (Everyone, it seems, aside from Ty Rodgers.)

Ahead of Illinois’ matchup with Florida Gulf Coast on Friday (7:30 p.m. CT, Peacock), here’s the latest injury update, courtesy of Illini coach Brad Underwood.

Illinois injury updates before Florida Gulf Coast outing

Mar 11, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; California Golden Bears guard Andrej Stojakovic (2) drives to the basket against Virginia Tech Hokies guard Jaydon Young (3) during OT at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Andrej Stojakovic (knee)

“He still hasn’t been through an entire practice. We’re monitoring his involvement in practices,” Underwood said of junior wing Andrej Stojakovic. “We’re trying to find out the perfect amount for that. It’ll be a game-time decision. Everything is reactionary to the workload that he does the day before and see what that’s like. But it didn’t work … last game, so we’ll see what a couple days off and then some work this week – we’ll see what that looks like.”

As for the decision-making and thought process behind the scenes, Underwood keeps it simple – by mostly staying out of it.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t know that," Underwood said. "That’s between the doctors and him and Justin Games, our trainer. It’s about soreness, I would assume. And the ability not to have further aggravation while we’re on the mending process. It’s getting better, and we sure don’t want a setback."

Mihailo Petrovic (hamstring)

“Mihailo’s still out, fighting the hamstring,” Underwood told the media on Thursday. Petrovic was nearing a full recovery when Illinois took on Florida in a closed-door scrimmage, but he reaggravated his injury in that game, per Underwood. The Illini seem to be handling Petrovic’s hamstring troubles with extreme caution – in a manner similar to that of Stojakovic’s knee injury.

Taking every opportunity to grow. pic.twitter.com/wQ28bHuUHy

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) October 27, 2025

Brandon Lee (ankle)

“Brandon’s got a really good lower sprain in his ankle, and [it's] pretty black and blue. So he will not play, either,” Underwood of freshman guard Brandon Lee, who hurt his ankle in practice Sunday, just a day before Illinois’ season opener.

With no Petrovic or Lee (not to mention Rodgers), the Illini are short on backcourt firepower and will be forced to rely heavily on veteran guard Kylan Boswell and freshman Keaton Wagler, along with fellow freshman Blake Fagbemi. 

Following Florida Gulf Coast on Friday, Illinois’ level of competition will quickly jump as No. 10 Texas Tech is set to arrive in Champaign for a Tuesday showdown.