CHAMPAIGN — Those who are allowed in State Farm Center a few hours before each game have routinely witnessed Ty Rodgers go through a light basketball workout of dribbling, tossing up runners in the lane and finishing some light layups.

Rodgers looks leaner than he’s ever looked in his practice uniform, yet the Illinois wing doesn’t quite look like the explosive leaper he was through his first two seasons on the court with the Illini before redshirting last season.

Yet, Rodgers’ presence on the court just five months after surgery to repair a knee injury suffered in a summer pick-up basketball session in Michigan is a sign of Rodgers’ physical progress.

Brad Underwood wouldn’t put a timeline on when the 6-foot-6 redshirt junior or even if he would play this season, but the Illinois head coach is pleased with Rodgers’ progress.

“Making progress. Just had a discussion yesterday about that,” Underwood said “He’s getting closer to being able to gain enough strength in the leg. He had some atrophy and some other things that were just repercussions of the surgery. So they want to get it back to a certain level of strength [balance] in terms of the right/left, so it’s pretty close. Then he started doing some basketball-related stuff. He’s doing some light jogging. He’s got a basketball in his hands shooting and doing some of those things. But just the explosive stuff he hasn’t done yet, but he’s getting much closer to that. We feel really, really positive about where that’s at and where his progress is at to this point.”

Rodgers made a rare return to Illinois despite choosing to redshirt last season with Underwood hoping Rodgers would provide leadership, rebounding and defense on a team that otherwise is full of shooting, size and skill. Rodgers started all 38 games on the 2023-24 Elite Eight team, averaging 6.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists.

Returning to a team midseason would be difficult — as it was for Luke Goode during the 2022-23 season after suffering a broken foot — as Rodgers still is ramping up to full strength and would have to break through a rotation on a team with already established roles.

Underwood wouldn’t completely shut down a potential Rodgers return, but he also didn’t commit to Rodgers returning this season either. Rodgers notably hasn’t been ruled out for the season on the Big Ten availability report. Underwood is pleased to see Rodgers getting closer to returning to the practice court.

“I wouldn’t want to even speculate [about a timeline to return]. I wouldn’t want to put any guesses out there so to speak,” Underwood said. “There’s the physical, there’s the mental, there’s a ways to go in that. Let’s get him in practice. Let’s see what that looks like. I’m not going to speculate on what that might look like yet. It’s probably way too early. Just happy that he’s making the right progress and headed in the right direction where he’s getting close to doing some basketball stuff.”

Underwood still confident in Petrovic

Mihailo Petrovic was a significant offseason addition for No. 13 Illinois (8-2), but the 22-year-old Serbian is struggling to get on the court for the Illini. During the Illini’s last two games — back-to-back Quad 1 wins — Petrovic played just seven total minutes, totaling zero points on 0-for-3 shooting and two turnovers. He played just one minute in Tuesday’s win at Ohio State.

That’s not all on Petrovic. The guards in front of him are playing well. Kylan Boswell (32.0 minutes per game) is the Illini’s leading scorer, assists leader, best on-ball defender and emotional leader on the court. Freshman guard Keaton Wagler (14.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists in 30.4 minutes) is far better than anyone expected and potentially the Illini’s best 2026 NBA Draft prospect. Andrej Stojakovic is the Illini’s second-leading scorer (15.1 points) and one of the Illini’s best defenders.

Simply, it’s tough to find minutes for Petrovic, a playmaking point guard, in a talented backcourt for a team that already ranks No. 5 in the country in offensive efficiency without a major contribution from him. The best thing for Petrovic would be to get extended run to settle in, but the Illini would be risking messing up a good flow in the backcourt in doing so.

“It’s not anything Mihailo’s doing or not doing. It’s we got guys playing at a pretty high level,” Underwood said. “We’re in this to continue to win games. Mihailo’s going to have his moments, his time. I’ve got a lot of confidence in him. Sometimes it’s what the game needs or doesn’t.”

But Petrovic — not a particularly strong defender or rebounder — also has struggled in his limited minutes. He’s shooting 38.1% and has 11 assists to nine turnovers. He had two points on 1-for-7 shooting, two rebounds, two assists, three turnovers and three fouls in extended minutes (18) against UConn two weeks ago. 

Petrovic arrived in Champaign in late August, giving him very little time to gain chemistry with his teammates during the preseason. That was exacerbated by two injuries in a month, including a hamstring injury that kept him sidelined for the first four games of the season. 

Petrovic has shown flashes of the speed, vision and passing that makes him a dynamo in the half court. His best game came against UTRGV: 12 points (4-for-5 FG), four assists and two turnovers in 18 minutes. He also gave the Illini offense a jolt with three points and five assists to just one turnover in a loss to Alabama in his season debut.

Underwood still thinks that skill set will be useful for the Illini.

“He’s doing great. He’s getting healthier and more comfortable,” Underwood said. “His practices are productive, and he’s going to have some moments because he can sure do some things to help us.”

Nebraska enters Champaign on hot streak

Fun fact: Nebraska is currently on the nation’s longest active win streak of 14 games. Well, not so fun for the Illini, who host the No. 23 Cornhuskers (10-0) on Saturday for a 3 p.m. CT tipoff.

Nebraska was projected to finish 14th in the Big Ten by a preseason conference media poll, but the Cornhuskers enter Saturday ranked No. 14 in the Net with a 4-0 record in Quad 2 games, including back-to-back blowout wins over Creighton (71-50) and Wisconsin (90-60).

That 10-0 start follows Nebraska winning the inaugural College Basketball Crown last season. Despite losing stars Brice Williams and Juwan Gary, the Cornhuskers have continued that momentum under seventh-year head coach Fred Hoiberg, boosted immensely by the return of All-Big Ten center Rienk Mast (18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists) — who missed all of last season with a knee injury — and addition of Iowa transfer forward Pryce Sandfort (15.6 points, 5.4 rebounds). The emergence of redshirt freshman forward Braden Frager (11.9 points, 37.5% from three) has also been significant.

“So much respect for Fred and the job that he’s done. It’s a very old team. It’s a team that’s played together,” Underwood said. “Obviously, Rienk, who sat out last year, is back … having a terrific campaign. They’ve added some nice pieces from the portal, but a team that shoots it from all five spots, runs great offense and deceptively are very good defensively. Everyone wants to talk about their defense, but they’re defensively very sound, very good. You don’t do what they’ve done to Creighton and to Wisconsin without being very, very solid on that end.”

Mast, who transferred from Bradley, averaged 12.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists during the 2023-24 season to lead Nebraska to an NCAA Tournament appearance. Mast gives Nebraska a lot of similar qualities that Tomislav Ivisic gives Illinois as a stretch center who can score inside and out, distribute to his teammates and make a big impact on the glass.

“He’s a five man that’s old. He’s been in the system. He’s been around. He’s a guy that there’s not a weakness in his game,” Underwood said. “He can shoot it. He can pass it. He’s a point-center if you want to call him that. …He can hurt your in matchups in the post and goes right, goes left. He’s just a very skilled, savvy player. They were very, very good at the end of the year last year, obviously winning The Crown and having the longest winning streak in the country because of that. But you add that piece and you add Pryce, one of the better shooters in the portal last year, and they’re a team that has a lot of pieces that fit. Rienk’s the one that helps elevate all of their games.’