Wagler’s 46 leads #11 Illinois to 88-82 Win at #4 Purdue

Next Game:

Washington

1/29/2026 | 8 pm CT

FS1

Busey Bank Illini Sports Network

Jan. 29 (Thu) / 8 pm CT

 Washington

History

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Freshman Keaton Wagler poured in 46 points, including a school-record nine 3-pointers, to lift No. 11 Illinois to a key 88-82 road win over No. 4 Purdue on Saturday afternoon.                                                  

Wagler scored early and often for Illinois, tallying in the team’s first 14 points, to ignite an historic performance that marked the most points ever scored by an opponent at Purdue’s Mackey Arena, and the most in a road win over a top-10 opponent in AP Poll history.

The win moves Illinois (17-3) to 8-1 in Big Ten play to keep pace in a tie for second with Michigan (18-1, 8-1 B1G) and Michigan State (18-2, 8-1) behind undefeated league-leader Nebraska (20-0, 9-0), while the Boilermakers (17-3) fall a game behind the Illini at 7-2 in league play in their only matchup of the regular season.  

Purdue led by as many as 11 points in the first half, staking to a 35-24 lead at the 6:52 mark. Facing a 10-point deficit, Zvonimir Ivisic and Wagler each buried 3-pointers in the final minute of the half to keep the Orange and Blue within striking distance, 43-39.  

Coming out of the locker room, Wagler scored the first five and a Jake Davis layup capped a 7-0 Illini run as Illinois swung the first of 12 second-half lead changes in their direction. Neither team led by more than five for the remainder of the contest until David Mirkovic’s free-throws shut the door with five seconds to play.

Purdue was led by senior guard Braden Smith who tallied 27 points and a game-high 12 assists. Smith broke a 68-68 tie at the 5:18 with a 3-pointer and knocked down a jumper in the paint with go give the Boilermakers a 73-68 edge with 4:36 left in the game.

The Illini answered with a 5-0 run, capped by a Tomislav Ivisic 3-pointer at the 3:31 mark. Following a bucket by Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn, the Illini got back-to-back triples from Jake Davis and Mirkovic to take a 79-75 lead inside of 2 minutes on the clock and never trailed again in closing out the win.  

Illinois now turns its attention to Thursday’s home matchup vs. Washington. Tipoff between the Fighting Illini and the Huskies is set for 8 p.m. CT at State Farm Center.  

HIGHLIGHTS

PRESS CONFERENCE

POSTGAME NOTES

Player Notes

• Keaton Wagler put together one of the greatest scoring performances in college basketball history with 46 points (13-17 FG, 9-11 3PT, 11-13 FT) and four assists.
  • The most points scored in a road win over a top-10 opponent in AP poll history.
    • His 46 points were the most against a top-10 team since Malik Monk scored 47 against #7 North Carolina on Dec. 17, 2016.
    • Wagler’s 46 points were the most against a top-5 team on the road since Buddy Hield dropped 46 points for Oklahoma in a loss at #1 Kansas on Jan. 4, 2016.
  • Set the Illinois freshman scoring record.
    • Was previously 35, set by Giorgi Bezhanishvili vs. Rutgers on Feb. 5, 2019.
    • Scored the most points by a freshman in a Big Ten game since at least 2010-11.
  • Tied for the second-most points by an Illini in program history.
    • 1. 53 – Dave Downey at Indiana, Feb. 16, 1963
    • T2. 46 – Keaton Wagler at #4 Purdue, Jan. 24, 2026
    • T2. 46 – Andy Kaufmann vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Jan. 10, 2012
  • Posted the first 40-point game by an Illini since Terrence Shannon Jr.’s 40-point outing in the Big Ten Tournament vs. Nebraska on March 16, 2024.
  • Set the Mackey Arena scoring record for a visiting player.
  • Scored the most points by an Illini in a road game vs. a top-5 team since at least 2010-11.
    • Became the first Illinois player to score 40+ against a top-5 opponent since Brandon Paul’s 43 points vs. #5 Ohio State on Jan. 10, 2012.
  • Broke the Illinois program record with nine 3-pointers.
    • Broke the previous mark of 8, which was achieved six times, most recently by Terrence Shannon Jr. vs. UCLA on Nov. 18, 2022.
    • His 81.8% 3-point field goal percentage ranks as the eighth-best mark by a freshman in program history.
  • His 13 field goals are tied for the second-most by a freshman in program history.
    • 1. 14 – Giorgi Bezhanishvili vs. Rutgers, Feb. 9, 2019
    • T2. 13 – Keaton Wagler at #4 Purdue, Jan. 24, 2026
    • T2. 13 – Deon Thomas vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Dec. 3, 1990
  • His 11 free throws are tied for the fifth-most by a freshman in program history.
  • Scored in double figures for the 12th consecutive game and for the 17th time overall this season.
    • Averaging 20.1 ppg during that stretch.
  • Hit at least one 3-pointer in 19 of the first 20 games of his collegiate career, the most games with a triple on the team this season.
  • Led the Illini in scoring for the team-leading seventh time this season.
  • Scored the Illini’s first 14 points of the night and 24 of the Illini’s 39 first-half points.
    • Broke his career-high in scoring with nine seconds remaining in the first half.
• Andrej Stojakovic finished with five points, seven rebounds, and an assist.
  • Grabbed multiple offensive rebounds for the ninth time this season.
• David Mirkovic tallied 12 points, eight rebounds, and two assists.
  • Scored in double figures for the third straight game and for the 14th time this season.
  • Corralled at least three offensive rebounds for the ninth time this season.
    • Has multiple o boards in seven of the last eight games.
• Tomislav Ivisic connected on two 3-pointers and finished with seven points and eight rebounds.
  • His 83 3-pointers are the most in the NCAA by a 7-footer over the last two seasons.  
  • Tied his season-high with four offensive rebounds.
    • Has at least three o boards in each of the last four games.
• Jake Davis finished with eight points, three rebounds, and two assists.
  • Made his fifth start of the season, second consecutive in place of injured Kylan Boswell.
  • His 3-pointer with 2:29 remaining gave the Illini a 76-75 advantage, a lead they maintained the rest of the way.
  • Had multiple offensive rebounds for the fifth time this season and for the second straight game.
• Ben Humrichous knocked down two 3-pointers, totaling six points and four rebounds.
  • Team-leading 44th game with a 3-pointer over the last two seasons. 
  • Had multiple treys for the sixth time this season.
• Zvonimir Ivisic amassed four points, two rebounds, two blocks, and an assist off the bench.
  • Had multiple blocks for the 13th time this season.
    • Has 2+ blocks in eight of the last nine games.

Team Notes

• Starters: Jake Davis, Tomislav Ivisic, David Mirkovic, Andrej Stojakovic, and Keaton Wagler.
• Illinois knocked down a program-record-tying 18 3-pointers.
  • The Illini have made at least 10 3-pointers in six straight games and in 15 contests overall this season, posting a 13-2 record.
  • Most in a game since hitting 18 on Dec. 18, 2021 in a home win vs. Saint Francis (PA).
• Illinois moves to 17-3 overall, the team’s best 20-game start since also opening 17-3 in 2008-09.
• The Illini secured their highest ranked road win since defeating #2 Michigan on March 2, 2021.
  • Illinois’ sixth win over a Top-5 win under Brad Underwood since 2019-20, tied for fifth-most in the country.  
• Illinois snapped a three-game skid against the Boilermakers in West Lafayette, marking the Illini’s first road victory over Purdue since Jan. 21, 2020.
• The Illini are 8-1 in Big Ten play for the first time since 2004-05.
• Illinois is now 5-0 in Big Ten road games for the first time since 2004-05, when they won their first seven league road games.
  • Dating back to last season, the Illini now hold a six-game Big Ten road win streak, the program’s longest run since winning six consecutive league road games from Feb. 27, 2021, through Jan. 11, 2022.
• Illinois has won nine straight games since Dec. 22, the team’s longest win streak of the season, and the program’s longest since winning 12 straight games to open the 2012-13 season.
  • The team’s nine-game winning streak is their longest under head coach Brad Underwood.
• Saturday’s victory marked the 100th Big Ten win of head coach Brad Underwood’s career.
  • Underwood, in his ninth season at Illinois, ranks third on the Illini all-time coaching list for Big Ten wins behind Lou Henson (214 in 21 seasons) and Harry Combes (174 in 20 seasons).
  • He is the fourth active Big Ten coach with 100+ B1G wins, joining Michigan State’s Tom Izzo (367, 31st year), Purdue’s Matt Painter (246, 21st year), and Wisconsin’s Greg Gard (123, 11th year).
• The #11 Illini are:
  • 669-270 (.712) all-time when ranked inside the AP Top 25.
• This marks Illinois’ 89th Big Ten win since 2019-20, breaking the tie with Purdue for the most in the league over the last seven seasons.
  • Illinois also leads the Big Ten with 39 road wins in league play over the last seven seasons, five more than any other program since 2019-20 (Purdue 34).  
• Illinois outrebounded Purdue 33-19, including a 13-3 edge on the offensive glass.
  • Illinois has outrebounded 18 of 20 opponents this season with a 16-2 record in those contests.
  • The Illini scored 18 second-chance points on those offensive rebounds while holding Purdue to just two second-chance points.