The Ivisic problem isn't going away any time soon – he has missed two games with mononucleosis, a "confounding matter" for an athlete, according to the National Institutes of Health

Illinois center Tomislav Ivisic will miss his second game against Northwestern due to mononucleosis, following his absence in the Maryland game.

Scott Richey covers college basketball for The News-Gazette. His email is [email protected], and you can follow him on Twitter ( @srrichey ).

The hope around Champaign after Illinois' 91-70 home loss to Maryland – in which center Tomislav Ivisic sat out due to illness and several other Illini were slowed by a bug – was that the worst was over for the team.

Illinois basketball will be without its starting center against the Terrapins on Thursday night. Tomislav Ivisic has been hampered by strep throat in recent days. Head coach Brad Underwood said that illness limited him in the Michigan State game.