Illinois Fighting Illini at Purdue Boilermakers
· NCAA Men's Basketball
Wagler scores 46 points to lead No. 11 Illinois to an 88-82 victory over No. 4 Purdue
Wagler, a freshman guard, shot 13 for 17 overall, 9 of 11 from 3-point range and 11 of 13 on free throws. David Mirkovic added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Illini (17-3, 8-1 Big Ten).
Braden Smith led the Boilermakers (17-3, 7-2) with 27 points and 12 assists. Trey Kaufman-Renn added 12 points for Purdue, which lost its second consecutive game.
The Illini hit 18 of 38 3-pointers while Purdue was 7 of 19.
Wagler had 24 of the Illini’s 39 first-half points, including the first 14.
Smith's 3-pointer cut Illinois' lead to 82-80 with 45 seconds left. Wagler answered with a jumper with 18 seconds left, and after Smith made two from the line to again make it a two-point game, Wagler hit two to make it 86-82 with 9.3 seconds left. Purdue then turned the ball over.
Purdue shot 63% percent in the opening half compared to 43% for Illinois. However, the Illini countered that by hitting 9 of 21 3-pointers while the Boilermakers were 3 of 8 on 3-point shots.
Illinois played without reserve center Jason Jakstys, who was out with an injury. Illini coach Brad Underwood previously announced guard Kyle Boswell., who averages 14.3 points, will be out at least a month with a fracture bone in his right hand.
Purdue: At Indiana on Tuesday.
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 88 - 82 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 88 - 82 |
| 2nd 0:01 | David Mirkovic Defensive Rebound. | 88 - 82 |
| 2nd 0:04 | Braden Smith misses 26-foot three point pullup jump shot | 88 - 82 |
| 2nd 0:05 | David Mirkovic makes free throw 2 of 2 | 88 - 82 |
Statistics
 ILL |
 PUR |
|
|---|---|---|
| 27-56 | FG | 33-58 |
| 48 | Field Goal % | 57 |
| 18-38 | 3PT | 7-19 |
| 47 | Three Point % | 37 |
| 16-22 | FT | 9-11 |
| 73 | Free Throw % | 82 |
| 33 | Rebounds | 19 |
| 13 | Offensive Rebounds | 3 |
| 20 | Defensive Rebounds | 16 |
| 10 | Assists | 19 |
| 0 | Steals | 2 |
| 2 | Blocks | 1 |
| 10 | Turnovers | 3 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 10 | Total Turnovers | 3 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 1 |
| 2 | Points Off Turnovers | 20 |
| 5 | Fast Break Points | 14 |
| 14 | Points in Paint | 44 |
| 14 | Fouls | 17 |
| 6 | Largest Lead | 11 |
| 14 | Lead Changes | 14 |
| 22 | Percent Led | 69 |
Game Information
Location: West Lafayette, IN
Attendance: 14,876 | Capacity:
2025-26 Big Ten Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | 9-0 | - | 20-0 |
| Michigan | 8-1 | 1 | 18-1 |
| Michigan State | 8-1 | 1 | 18-2 |
| Illinois | 8-1 | 1 | 17-3 |
| Purdue | 7-2 | 2 | 17-3 |
| Wisconsin | 6-3 | 3 | 14-6 |
| UCLA | 6-3 | 3 | 14-6 |
| Ohio State | 5-4 | 4 | 13-6 |
| Iowa | 4-4 | 4.5 | 14-5 |
| USC | 4-5 | 5 | 15-5 |
| Indiana | 4-5 | 5 | 13-7 |
| Washington | 3-6 | 6 | 11-9 |
| Minnesota | 3-6 | 6 | 10-10 |
| Rutgers | 2-7 | 7 | 9-11 |
| Northwestern | 1-8 | 8 | 9-11 |
| Oregon | 1-8 | 8 | 8-12 |
| Maryland | 1-8 | 8 | 8-12 |
| Penn State | 0-8 | 8.5 | 9-10 |