Jan. 08--Illinois will have only eight scholarship players available for a tough game at No. 5 Michigan State on Thursday night.
Leading scorer Kendrick Nunn (18.5 points per game) remained in Champaign for the pending birth of his child.
That leaves Illinois short-staffed again as the team has dealt with odd injuries and circumstances all season.
One player may return to the lineup. Point guard Khalid Lewis has been cleared to play after missing the last two games with mumps.
Illinois is looking at a difficult start to the Big Ten season.
The Illini (8-7, 0-2) could face an 0-4 start to the conference slate with the next two games against top 20 teams.
Illinois will try to pull off an upset on Thursday night at No. 5 Michigan State (14-1, 1-1, which is still without injured star Denzel Valentine. The Illini host No. 20 Purdue on Sunday.
Illinois lost its first two Big Ten games, falling to Michigan at home and Ohio State on the road.
The Illini haven't fared well on the road, where they've lost six straight.
The last time Illinois beat a top-five team was in coach John Groce's first season in 2012-13 when they topped No. 1 Indiana. But it's been 25 years since the Illini have defeated a top-five team on the road. That was in 1989, when the Flyin' Illini beat No. 3 Indiana at the buzzer.
