Published on February 2, 2026 6:15 am
Last Updated on February 2, 2026 6:16 am
BY UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
LINCOLN, NEB. – Freshman point guard Keaton Wagler scored 28 points – 23 in the second half – to lift No. 9 Illinois to its second top-5 road win in eight days with a 78-69 victory over No. 5 Nebraska at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Wagler, who scored 46 points last Saturday in Illinois’ win at No. 4 Purdue, helped the Fighting Illini overcome a six-point halftime deficit vs. the Huskers to secure the team’s 11th straight win. It marks the first time that Illinois has won consecutive road matchups against top-5 opponents in program history.
With the win, the Illini (19-3, 10-1 B1G) keep pace with No. 3-ranked Michigan at the top of the Big Ten standings, moving a game ahead of the Huskers who are tied with No. 7 Michigan State at 9-2 in league play.
Wagler was joined in double-figures scoring by juniors Jake Davis and Tomislav Ivisic with 13 and 12, respectively, and fellow freshman David Mirkovic who tallied 10 points. Mirkovic and Ivisic also tied for the game-high with eight rebounds as the Illini posted a 40-27 edge on the glass.
The contest featured six ties and nine lead changes but the Illini controlled the action for most of the game despite a 14-2 scoring run for Nebraska that allowed the Huskers to turn a six-point deficit into a 39-33 lead at the break.
A Wagler layup opened the second half scoring, and the Illini erased the halftime deficit for good on his three-pointer with just more than 13 minutes to play.
Davis’ 3-pointer at the 8:52 mark ignited a 10-0 Illini scoring run that included a bucket from Mirkovic and the final five points from Wagler. His triple at the 6:45 mark gave the Illini an 11-point lead, 63-52.
The Corn Huskers never pulled closer than three possessions for the remainder of the contest as the Illini closed out the win from the free-throw line. Wagler knocked down six free-throws, while Mirkovic and Andrej Stojakovic each hit a pair from the charity stripe, in the final 3:30.
Illinois returns home to State Farm Center to host Northwestern on Wednesday in the team’s annual Hail to the Orange Out. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network
POSTGAME NOTES
Player Notes
Keaton Wagler finished with a game-high 28 points while also adding five rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Became the first NCAA DI player over the last 20 seasons with multiple 25+-point games in road wins over top-5 opponents.
Has scored 74 points (37 ppg) in wins at #4 Purdue and at #5 Nebraska over last eight days.
Reached double-figures scoring for the 14th straight game, and a team-leading 19th time this season, averaging 20.8 points during that stretch.
Logged his third straight game with 20+ points and his seventh of the season.
Scored 23 of his 28 points in the second half.
Fifth time this season notching 10+ points, 5+ assists and 5+ rebounds.
Third 10/5/5 game in his last four outings.
Seventh game of the season with at least four 3-pointers.
Has hit at least one 3-pointer in a team-leading 21 of 22 games, including 19 straight since Nov. 11 vs. Texas Tech.
Went 10-for-12 from the free throw line.
Made 10+ free throws for the second time this season.
Grabbed multiple offensive rebounds for the 13th time.
Jake Davis delivered 13 points, three rebounds, and a block.
Fifth game of the season in double-figures scoring (seventh of Illinois career)
Averaging 9.0 points over the last four games in the starting lineup.
Sixteenth game of the season with a 3-pointer (fourth straight)
Has knocked down 3+ 3-pointers in five games this season.
Made his fourth block of the season and his first since Dec. 29 vs. Southern.
Has an offensive rebound in each of the last six games.
Tomislav Ivisic totaled 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and a block.
Scored in double figures for the 10th time this season and the 32nd time in his Illinois career
Notched his 10th game of the season with multiple 3-pointers (fifth in last six games), the best mark in the nation among 7-footers.
Now has made 86 3-pointers over the last two seasons, the most in the nation among 7-footers.
David Mirkovic registered 10 points, eight rebounds, and an assist.
Scored in double digits for the fifth straight game and 16th time this season.
Had 8+ rebounds for the 13th time this season.
Grabbed multiple offensive rebounds for the fifth consecutive game, for the ninth time in the last 10 contests, and for the 15th time overall.
Andrej Stojakovic amassed eight points, four assists, and two rebounds.
Tied his career-high with four assists.
Went 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Ben Humrichous added three rebounds, two blocks, a steal, and an assist off the bench.
Tenth game of the season with at least one block, first in five games since Jan. 11 at Iowa.
Tallied multiple blocks for the fifth time this season and for the first time since Dec. 6 vs. Tennessee.
Had an offensive rebound for the fourth straight game.
Zvonimir Ivisic secured seven points, seven rebounds, two blocks, and an assist.
14th game of the season with multiple blocks (ninth in last 11 games)
Grabbed multiple offensive rebounds for the sixth time this season.
Team Notes
Starters: Jake Davis, Tomislav Ivisic, David Mirkovic, Andrej Stojakovic, and Keaton Wagler.
Fourth game without Kylan Boswell (broken right hand).
Illinois wins consecutive road games over top-5 opponents for the first time in program history.
Illinois moves to 19-3 overall, the team’s best start since opening 20-2 in 2005-06.
The Illini are 10-1 in Big Ten play for the first time since 2004-05.
Illinois will finish .500 or better in Big Ten play for the seventh consecutive season, the longest streak in the league.
Sunday’s win is Illinois’ seventh top-10 win in a visiting arena under Brad Underwood over the last seven seasons, the most in the nation.
Illinois has won 11 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.
Illinois has won nine consecutive Big Ten games, its longest streak in conference play since winning 10 straight under Brad Underwood across two seasons from Feb. 25, 2021 through Jan. 13, 2022.
The Illini have won seven straight B1G road games, the program’s longest road win streak in league play since the record of 13 in a row from Feb. 3, 2004 through Feb. 19, 2005.
Illinois is 8-2 away from home this season, and 6-0 in true road games.
The Illini are 6-0 on the road in Big Ten play for the first time since 2004-05 when they won their first seven league road contests.
The #9 Illini are 671-270 (.713) all-time when ranked inside the AP Top 25.
Illinois is 165-150 (.524) on the road when ranked.
Under Brad Underwood, the Illini are now 109-46 (.703) when ranked.
This marks Illinois’ 91st Big Ten win since 2019-20, the most in the league over the last seven seasons.
The Illini also lead the league with 40 road wins in Big Ten play since 2019-20.
The Illini secured their second top-5 win of the season, their first time with multiple top-5 wins in the same season since 2020-21.
Illinois has now achieved that feat for the fourth time in program history, joining the 1951-52, 1964-65, and 2020-21 squads.
Illinois has now registered two top-5 road wins in the same season for the first time in program history.
The Illini posted a 10-8 advantage in second-chance points.
Illinois entered the game leading the Big Ten in second-chance scoring (16.2 ppg).
Illinois outrebounded Nebraska at a 40-27 clip.
Illinois has outrebounded 19 of 22 opponents this season with a 17-2 record in those contests.
Illinois went 21-for-26 from the free throw line as a team.
Made 20 + free throws for the sixth time this season.
Illinois entered the game ranking first in the Big Ten (third nationally) at just 13.0 fouls per game and committed just 10 fouls.
Nebraska shot just five free-throws in the contest.
The Illini snapped the Huskers’ 12-game home winning streak.
Illinois outscored Nebraska by 15 points in the second half, 45-30, to erase a six-point halftime deficit (39-33).
The six-point halftime deficit marks the largest overcome in a win by the Illini this season.