Published on January 30, 2026 6:12 am
Last Updated on January 30, 2026 6:13 am
BY UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 9 Illinois extended its Big Ten-leading winning streak to 10 with a 75-66 victory over Washington at a sold-out State Farm Center Thursday night in the Fighting Illini’s annual Krush Cancer game.
The Illini moved to 18-3 overall and 9-1 in Big Ten play, keeping pace in a four-way tie atop the conference standings at the midway point of the league race.
Keaton Wagler led all scorers with 22 points on 7-for-13 shooting. He saw the floor for 38 minutes and also recorded eight assists, five rebounds, and two steals.
Wagler was joined in double-figures scoring by classmate David Mirkovic, who put up 19 points and six rebounds. It marked Mirkovic’s highest-scoring game since his 22-point night at Ohio State on Dec. 9.
The Illini knocked down 11 3-pointers as a team, led by Ben Humrichous, who knocked down four triples on six attempts to finish with 14 points.
Andrej Stojakovic contributed eight points and grabbed three rebounds while Tomislav Ivisic recorded seven points and six rebounds. Zvonimir Ivisic contributed to the win with five boards in 15 minutes.
Washington opened the game with a 7-0 run, but Illinois quickly responded with a 10-0 stretch over the next four minutes and never trailed again. The Orange and Blue held a 16-11 lead at the 9:36 mark, with all 16 points – eight each – coming from the freshman duo of Wagler and Mirkovic.
The Illini led by as many as seven points in the opening half and went into the locker room holding a 33-26 lead.
Out of the break, the Illini pushed their lead to 10 points twice in the first eight minutes of the half, but UW climbed back to within five points each time. Humrichous’ final triple of the contest, at the 1:33 mark, gave the Illini a 72-61 lead, and was followed by another Wagler 3-pointer just 30 seconds later to put the game out of reach.
The win sets up a big rematch Sunday when the Illini visit co-Big Ten leader No. 5 Nebraska (3 p.m. CT / FS1) at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln.
PLAYER NOTES
Keaton Wagler led the Illinois scoring attack with 22 points, dished out a team-high eight assists and secured five rebounds.
Scored 20+ points for the sixth time this season.
Recorded 5+ assists for the seventh time this season.
Reached double-figures scoring for the 13th straight game and a team-leading 18th time this season, averaging 20.2 points during that stretch.
Fourth time this season notching 10+ points, 5+ assists and 5+ rebounds.
David Mirkovic tallied 19 points, grabbed a team-high six rebounds and an assist.
Fifth straight game with multiple 3-pointers, and the 10th of the season.
Scored in double digits for the 4th straight game and 15th time this season.
Ben Humrichous scored 14 points on 4-for-6 shooting from deep and secured three boards.
Team-high 45 games with a 3-pointer over the last two seasons.
Seventh game of the season with multiple 3-pointers (third consecutive).
Tomislav Ivisic added seven points with a team-high six rebounds.
Eighty-four 3-pointers over the last two seasons, the most in the nation among 7-footers.
Zvonimir Ivisic scored two points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked a shot.
Tenth straight game with at least one block
Has recorded a block in 18 of 21 games this season.
TEAM NOTES
Starters: Jake Davis, Tomislav Ivisic, David Mirkovic, Andrej Stojakovic, and Keaton Wagler.
Third game without Kylan Boswell (broken right hand).
Illinois went undefeated (8-0) in the month of January for the first time since the 2004-05 campaign.
Illinois won the tip but Washington opened up scoring with a three.
Keaton Wagler sank Illinois’ first bucket of the day with a deep three five minutes in.
Illinois moves to 18-3 overall, the team’s best 21-game start since also opening 19-2 in 2005-06.
The Illini are 9-1 in Big Ten play for the first time since 2004-05.
Illinois has won 10 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 10-game winning streak is their longest under head coach Brad Underwood.
Illinois is 11-1 at home this season, the program’s best start since opening 12-1 at State Farm Center in 2019-20. The Illini are averaging 89.0 points per game at home, with an average scoring margin of +22.9 ppg.
Thursday’s crowd was the sixth home sellout (15,544) of the season at State Farm Center. The Illini are averaging 14,660 fans per game, 94% capacity.
The #9 Illini are 670-270 (.713) all-time when ranked inside the AP Top 25.
Illinois is 366-54 (.871) at home, including a 288-41 (.875) mark at State Farm Center when ranked.
This marks Illinois’ 90th Big Ten win since 2019-20, the most in the league over the last seven seasons.
The Illini have made at least 10 3-pointers in seven straight games and in 16 contests overall this season (most in the Big Ten), posting a 14-2 record.
The Illini scored 24 second-chance points, with a 24-4 edge over Washington.
Illinois entered the game leading the Big Ten in second-chance scoring (15.9 ppg).