Illinois Fighting Illini at Ohio State Buckeyes
· NCAA Men's Basketball
Keaton Wagler's 23 points lead No. 13 Illinois to 88-80 victory over Ohio State in Big Ten opener
David Mirkovic had 22 points, including 11 in the first eight minutes, and eight rebounds. Andrej Stojakovic scored 17 for the Fighting Illini (8-2, 1-0 Big Ten). It was Illinois' 35th road win in league play since 2019-20, most in the conference.
Bruce Thornton led the Buckeyes (7-2, 1-1) with 34 points, six rebounds and six assists. The senior guard had 24 points in the first half when he was 9 of 10 from the field and 6 of 7 on 3-pointers.
Ohio State trailed 79-72 with 2:01 remaining before scoring four straight points to get within one possession. Devin Royal’s driving layup pulled the Buckeyes to 79-76, but Tomislav Ivisic’s 3-pointer with 44.7 seconds left put it out of reach. The junior center's shot from the left corner hit the rim before bouncing up and going through the net.
The Illini made their first 13 foul shots and finished 29 of 32, their second-most free throws in a game this season. Wagler, Mirkovic and Stojakovic combined to go 23 of 24 from the line.
Royal scored 15 points and Christoph Tilly had 13 points and eight rebounds. The Buckeyes were 11 of 16 from the line in the second half and 15 of 21 for the game.
OSU took a 34-33 lead before Illinois scored 11 straight points, including five by Ivisic. The Illini were up 48-42 at halftime.
Ohio State: Faces West Virginia in Cleveland on Saturday.
This story has been corrected to show Thornton scored 34 points.
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 88 - 80 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 88 - 80 |
| 2nd 0:00 | Bruce Thornton made Layup. | 88 - 80 |
| 2nd 0:05 | David Mirkovic made Free Throw. | 88 - 78 |
| 2nd 0:05 | David Mirkovic made Free Throw. | 87 - 78 |
Statistics
 ILL |
 OSU |
|
|---|---|---|
| 24-54 | FG | 28-61 |
| 44 | Field Goal % | 46 |
| 11-27 | 3PT | 9-28 |
| 41 | Three Point % | 32 |
| 29-32 | FT | 15-21 |
| 91 | Free Throw % | 71 |
| 37 | Rebounds | 30 |
| 9 | Offensive Rebounds | 7 |
| 28 | Defensive Rebounds | 23 |
| 12 | Assists | 11 |
| 0 | Steals | 3 |
| 3 | Blocks | 2 |
| 9 | Turnovers | 6 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 9 | Total Turnovers | 6 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 8 | Points Off Turnovers | 10 |
| 4 | Fast Break Points | 12 |
| 24 | Points in Paint | 34 |
| 21 | Fouls | 27 |
| 10 | Largest Lead | 3 |
| 3 | Lead Changes | 3 |
| 87 | Lead Percentage | 8 |
Game Information
Location: Columbus, OH
Attendance: 9,974 | Capacity:
2025-26 Big Ten Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 2-0 | - | 7-2 |
| Michigan | 1-0 | 0.5 | 9-0 |
| Michigan State | 1-0 | 0.5 | 8-1 |
| Purdue | 1-0 | 0.5 | 8-1 |
| Illinois | 1-0 | 0.5 | 8-2 |
| Wisconsin | 1-0 | 0.5 | 7-2 |
| Minnesota | 1-0 | 0.5 | 5-4 |
| USC | 1-1 | 1 | 9-1 |
| Iowa | 1-1 | 1 | 8-1 |
| Indiana | 1-1 | 1 | 8-2 |
| Ohio State | 1-1 | 1 | 7-2 |
| Washington | 1-1 | 1 | 6-3 |
| Nebraska | 0-0 | 1 | 9-0 |
| Penn State | 0-1 | 1.5 | 8-2 |
| Maryland | 0-1 | 1.5 | 6-4 |
| Northwestern | 0-2 | 2 | 5-4 |
| Rutgers | 0-2 | 2 | 5-5 |
| Oregon | 0-2 | 2 | 4-5 |