The Illinois basketball team lost a heartbreaker over the weekend against Michigan State, and to make matters worse, they lost freshman forward Morez Johnson Jr. to an injury in the process. Johnson Jr. injured his wrist as he fell to the floor after blocking a shot in the loss against the Spartans. Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood discussed the injury on Monday, and Morez Jr. is out indefinitely after breaking his wrist.

“Rough news for Illinois: Brad Underwood announces big man Morez Johnson Jr. is out indefinitely with a broken wrist,” John Fanta said in a post.

Unfortunately, Morez Johnson Jr. paid the price for his incredible block that occurred on the same play as the injury. He swatted a shot away with two hands, protecting Illinois' one-point lead at the time. Johnson Jr. went down hard on the play.

“I feel terrible for that young man,” Brad Underwood told reporters, according to an article from ESPN. “What an incredible play. It's one of the best I've seen in a long time. Unfortunately, that injury happened.”

After the play, Johnson Jr. didn't realize how severe his injury was. He had his wrist taped and was able to finish the game, and the broken bone was discovered later.

“He fell, he hit the floor pretty hard and was tough enough to bounce up and just say, ‘Tape it,'” Underwood added. “That impacted a couple of his close misses at the rim as well late in the game. He's in a cast. No timeline to that at this point. So, we'll strap it up and have to move forward without his presence.”

Johnson Jr. is just a freshman this season, but he has emerged as one of the best rebounders on this Illinois basketball team. The Illinois native is averaging 6.6 rebounds per game in just under 18 minutes per game. He has been a scoring threat for the Fighting Illini as well as he is also averaging 7.2 points per game.

According to Underwood, it is unclear how long the Fighting Illini will be without Morez Johnson Jr. However, due to the severity of the injury, it seems unlikely that we see him back before the end of the regular season.

The Fighting Illini are currently 17-9 overall and 9-7 in Big Ten play. They have a couple of big matchups this week as they will be hitting the road to take on #11 Wisconsin on Tuesday before hosting #3 Duke in a rare February non-conference battle over the weekend. Getting a win in either game would be massive for Illinois' NCAA Tournament resume.