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Illinois declares home floor fit for play following flooding issue

Illinois

Twitter/IlliniHoops

Two days after storm water flooded the State Farm Center and threatened to damage the home court of the Illinois men’s and women’s basketball programs, the school announced that the court is now fit for play. Both programs will resume practicing on the court next week, with both having exhibition games scheduled for next weekend.

The basketball court at State Farm Center has been inspected and reinstalled, and is now ready for play. This concludes a two-day process following an incident early Tuesday morning when a storm line blockage caused water to back up into the building, eventually reaching the event floor. The court was not damaged thanks to the responsiveness of construction workers and State Farm Center staff who quickly removed the water from the building, installed fans, took apart the court and elevated it on wood blocking to help it dry.

The Illinois men will play their first exhibition next Friday, with the women hosting theirs the following afternoon. Illinois’ flooding issue wasn’t as severe as the one UCLA had to deal with during the summer, with the effects of that keeping the Bruins out of Pauley Pavilion until last weekend.

The Illinois basketball program also tweeted out a photo of the reinstalled floor Thursday afternoon.

Follow @raphiellej