Illinois State Redbirds at Wake Forest Demon Deacons
· NIT - 2nd Round
Illinois State beats Wake Forest 78-75, winning twice in NIT for first time in 30 years
Fourth-seeded Illinois State (22-12) heads to No. 2 seed Dayton for a campus-site quarterfinal. The last time the Redbirds won twice in a NIT appearance was in 1996.
Illinois State trailed 53-44 with 11:28 remaining before rallying to tie it on Landon Wolf's 3-pointer with 6:29 to go and then taking the lead on a Pence 3-pointer on its next possession.
There were four lead changes and five ties from there — the final tie came on Tre'Von Spillers layup with 28 seconds left to set the stage for Kinziger.
Pence made 8 of 11 shots with three 3-pointers and all four of his free throws. Kinziger buried 5 of 10 from beyond the arc and added five assists. Chase Walker scored 15.
Spillers made all 11 of his shots and scored 24 to pace the Demon Deacons (18-17), adding eight rebounds. Juke Harris totaled 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Harris finished with 750 points this season — the second highest total in program history. Len Chappell set the record with 932 points during the 1961-62 season. Chappell had 745 points his prior season. Dickie Hemric scored 746 in 1954-55.
Omaha Biliew added 11 points and six boards for Wake Forest, while Myles Colvin scored 10 off the bench.
Cooper Schwieger's dunk for Wake Forest in the final minute tied it 32-all at halftime.
How can I watch Illinois State vs. Wake Forest?
Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 78 - 75 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 78 - 75 |
| 2nd 0:01 | Chase Walker Steal. | 78 - 75 |
| 2nd 0:01 | Isaac Carr bad pass turnover | 78 - 75 |
| 2nd 0:01 | Illinois State Timeout | 78 - 75 |
Statistics
 ILST |
 WAKE |
|
|---|---|---|
| 25-61 | FG | 28-56 |
| 41 | Field Goal % | 50 |
| 10-33 | 3PT | 5-16 |
| 30 | Three Point % | 31 |
| 18-21 | FT | 14-21 |
| 86 | Free Throw % | 67 |
| 31 | Rebounds | 35 |
| 10 | Offensive Rebounds | 8 |
| 21 | Defensive Rebounds | 27 |
| 12 | Assists | 15 |
| 6 | Steals | 7 |
| 2 | Blocks | 4 |
| 9 | Turnovers | 11 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
| 9 | Total Turnovers | 11 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 1 |
| 19 | Points Off Turnovers | 9 |
| 5 | Fast Break Points | 5 |
| 30 | Points in Paint | 40 |
| 18 | Fouls | 15 |
| 3 | Largest Lead | 9 |
| 12 | Lead Changes | 12 |
| 19 | Percent Led | 63 |
Game Information
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Attendance: 1,933 | Capacity:
2025-26 Missouri Valley Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont | 16-4 | - | 26-6 |
| Bradley | 13-7 | 3 | 21-13 |
| Illinois State | 12-8 | 4 | 23-12 |
| Murray State | 12-8 | 4 | 20-13 |
| UIC | 12-8 | 4 | 19-16 |
| Northern Iowa | 11-9 | 5 | 23-13 |
| Valparaiso | 11-9 | 5 | 18-15 |
| Southern Illinois | 10-10 | 6 | 16-16 |
| Drake | 6-14 | 10 | 14-20 |
| Indiana State | 4-16 | 12 | 11-21 |
| Evansville | 3-17 | 13 | 7-25 |
2025-26 Atlantic Coast Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 17-1 | - | 35-2 |
| Virginia | 15-3 | 2 | 30-6 |
| Miami | 13-5 | 4 | 26-9 |
| North Carolina | 12-6 | 5 | 24-9 |
| Clemson | 12-6 | 5 | 24-11 |
| Louisville | 11-7 | 6 | 24-11 |
| NC State | 10-8 | 7 | 20-14 |
| Florida State | 10-8 | 7 | 18-15 |
| California | 9-9 | 8 | 22-12 |
| Stanford | 9-9 | 8 | 20-12 |
| Virginia Tech | 8-10 | 9 | 19-13 |
| SMU | 8-10 | 9 | 20-14 |
| Wake Forest | 7-11 | 10 | 18-17 |
| Syracuse | 6-12 | 11 | 15-17 |
| Pittsburgh | 5-13 | 12 | 13-20 |
| Notre Dame | 4-14 | 13 | 13-18 |
| Boston College | 4-14 | 13 | 11-20 |
| Georgia Tech | 2-16 | 15 | 11-20 |