Freshman Keaton Wagler’s record 46-point game has No. 11 Illinois thinking big after 88-82 upset of No. 4 Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — When Illinois freshman Keaton Wagler entered Purdue’s visiting locker room Saturday night, he was greeted with a blinding spray of water from his elated teammates.
Wagler said he was excited. But Illini forward David Mirković already swears — as Wagler celebrated an opponent’s greatest individual performance at Mackey Arena — that the guard was calm and collected.
Advertisement
“He was just cold,” Mirković said. “That’s what he is. He plays cool, relaxed.”
For months now, coach Brad Underwood has praised Wagler for his maturity and ability to remain unfazed in the moment as he stepped up in his first season leading the No. 11 Illini. On Saturday night, in Illinois’ biggest win of the season, Wagler showed it again.
Wagler scored an Illinois freshman record 46 points on 13-of-17 shooting to help knock off No. 4 Purdue, 88-82. He made nine 3-pointers – also an Illinois record – and made 11 of 13 free throws. It was the most points scored in a road win against a top 10 opponent in AP Poll history, according to the Illini.
Underwood said the performance “was unlike anything I’ve seen in my 39 years, especially in a top-5 or top-10 match.” Wagler scored Illinois’ first 14 points, scored 24 by halftime, then calmly helped the Illini close the game with a jumper and two free throws in the final 18 seconds.
Advertisement
“But that’s the beauty of Keaton,” Underwood said. “What’s impressive is that he takes the emotion out of being in a room with 15,000 people – all against him – and he just plays. He just took what the game gave him.”
It was Illinois’ ninth straight victory and its first road victory against a top-5 team since March 2, 2021, at No. 2 Michigan. Underwood also notched his 100th Big Ten victory as Illinois’ coach.
The Illini had some big wins against ranked teams this season – against the No. 1 seed at the time. 11 Texas Tech in November, then-No. 13 Tennessee in December then-No. 19 Iowa earlier this month. But none were this big — at the home of a Purdue team ranked No. 1 in the preseason and led by Big Ten returnees Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn.
Illinois did so in its second game without veteran guard Kylan Boswell, who suffered a broken right hand during Monday’s practice and is out until mid-February.
Advertisement
“The ceiling is the national championship,” Wagler said. “That’s our goal. That’s been our goal all along, and this proves that we’re a contender for that.”
Wagler’s play is one of the main reasons for this.
Wagler said the most he ever scored in a high school game for Shawnee Mission Northwest in Kansas was 32 points in a tournament in Quincy, Illinois. He previously had a career-high 23 with Illinois at Ohio State.
In the Illini’s win Wednesday against Maryland, he had just 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
“It didn’t really affect me,” Wagler said of the previous outing. “I know how good a shooter I am. I came in here with confidence, knowing that we were a down player. I had to compete against Purdue. It’s very difficult to win here, and I just came in here playing with confidence and letting what happens happen.”
Advertisement
Wagler made four straight 3-pointers on his 14-point run to start the game and added two more before halftime, several from well beyond the arc.
“Shooting step-back shots four or five feet behind the line and making them? Props to him,” Purdue center Oscar Cluff said.
Illinois needed that performance to combat the Boilermakers, who shot 63 percent in the first half and after 13 minutes of play had made 77 percent of their field goal attempts.
Smith, the reigning Big Ten player of the year, ran everything, cleverly throwing no-look passes to total eight points and seven assists in the half. At one point, after the Illini had cut their deficit to six points, Smith came up with a steal and threw behind his back to CJ Cox for a quick layup.
Advertisement
Purdue led 43-39 at halftime after a 3-point basket by Wagler. But the Boilermakers missed their first three shots of the second half to help Illinois take a 46-43 advantage. Wagler made a 3-pointer and a fadeaway and Jake Davis added a rebound and a basket to take the lead.
From there it was a back and forth game.
Illinois took the lead for good on a streak of four straight 3-pointers from players other than Wagler. Tomislav Ivišić had two, Davis one and Mirković another as the Illini went up 82-77.
But Wagler even made an impact on those 3s with two of his four assists, including a cross-court pass to Davis, who knocked him down as the shot clock expired.
Advertisement
“He’s so good at everything,” Davis said. “He’s a great scorer. He’s a great passer. But one of his most valuable traits is that he always makes the right decision.”
Davis had eight points and two assists. Mirković finished with 12 points and eight rebounds as Illinois cruised past Purdue 33-19.
Mirković played despite twisting his ankle during Friday’s practice. He said he only slept four or five hours because of the pain and had difficulty walking to eat breakfast.
“The coach came to me at breakfast and said: ‘Adrenaline is the best drug,'” Mirković said. “‘And when you come there and see 14,000 drunk fans swearing at you, you’ll be good.’ And it was like that. When I got on the field, my ankle stopped hurting.
Advertisement
Smith led Purdue with 27 points – including a 3-pointer and two free throws in the final minute – and 12 assists.
Underwood attended his postgame press conference with a towel around his neck following the water-infused locker room celebration.
“The locker room was trashed,” Davis said. “We did our best to clean it up, but it was destroyed. »
And unlike Mirković, Davis saw some of Wagler’s stoicism melt away with the revelry.
“It was lit in the locker room,” Davis said. “He was yelling a lot.”
