LJ Cason injury: Michigan guard hobbles to locker room in first half vs. Illinois

With less than a minute remaining first half against Illinois, Michigan guard LJ Cason suffered an apparent lower-body injury. He limped off the court and headed to locker room.

Cason’s injury occurred when he threw a between-the-legs pass on a fast break. The possession ended in a put-back dunk by Wolverines forward Morez Johnson Jr.

UPDATE: LJ Cason returned to the game in the second half. Then, with just over 13 minutes remaining in the second half, he limped off the court again.

Cason recorded seven points, two rebounds and an assist in just 11 minutes of first-half action. Cason is averaging 8.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, while shooting 50.0% from the field and 40.0% from beyond the arc.

LJ Cason is in his second season with Michigan. As a true freshman, he made 30 appearances, averaging 4.3 points per contest. Cason played high school basketball at Victory Christian Academy (FL), where he was a three-star prospect, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings.

Earlier this month, Cason had a statement performance in a comeback win over Northwestern. In the triumph, Cason posted a career-high 18 points on 5-8 shooting from the floor. After the game, Michigan head coach Dusty May raved about the second-year guard.

“Like a lot of our guys, he deserves to play more and he is a good basketball player,” May said. “We have challenged him to really expedite his process of being a guy that is reliable and dependable every single day… But he has the ability to do this on a regular basis.“

“He made big shots, he finished and he made his free throws. But, I thought the difference was he started running our team.”

Cason has been pivotal to Michigan’s spectacular season. The Wolverines entered Friday with a 26-2 overall record and a 16-1 mark in conference play. Michigan’s only losses thus far this season were against Duke and Wisconsin.

The Wolverines are currently ranked third in the country. This season is only Dusty May’s second at the helm of the program. He led Michigan to the Sweet Sixteen last season before they were ultimately eliminated by Auburn.

With one of the best résumés in college basketball this season, Michigan is expected to be a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Subsequently, the Wolverines will aim to secure their first national title since 1989.