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If everyone didn’t know the name Keaton Wagler before, they know it now. The Illinois freshman earned a host of national and Big Ten honors after his record-setting 46-point outburst in the Illini’s upset over then-No. 4 Purdue. Wagler was named National Player of the Week by Naismith Trophy, Lute Olson Award, Field of 68, […]
15 days ago | 3 reads
Keaton Wagler has carried Illinois back into the top 10. Illinois checked in at No. 9 in Monday’s AP poll, up from No. 11 last week. But it was a big week for the Illini who won two more games to extend their winning streak to nine — and it was punctuated by Keaton Wagler’s […]
15 days ago | 0 reads
I had a different, more bracketology related introduction written for this week’s article, but like Matt Painter’s defensive gameplan, Keaton Wagler made me throw it in the trash. Much has already been said about Keaton’s historic performance on The Champaign Room already, and yet it still does not do the magnitude of the performance justice. […]
16 days ago | 0 reads
Three former Illini are heading to Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara. Devon Witherspoon punched his ticket Sunday night when the Seahawks held off the Rams in a thriller in the NFC Championship. Tommy DeVito and Vederian Lowe qualified earlier in the day when the Patriots took down the Broncos. Witherspoon had two fourth-quarter pass […]
16 days ago | 1 read
How to Watch Illinois vs. Washington Game Time: 8 p.m. Thursday TV Channel: FS1 Online Streaming: FoxSportsGO Odds: N/A (Illinois 90.2% Chance To Win – ESPN Matchup Predictor) Quick Hits: No. 11 Illinois Fighting Illini (17-3, 8-1 Big Ten) Head Coach: Brad Underwood (9th season) Last Game: Illinois 88, Purdue 82 Gameday Reading: Washington Huskies (10-9, 2-6 Big Ten) […]
17 days ago | 1 read
LINCOLN, Neb. – Another tough-ranked away matchup proves too much for Illinois. Illinois fell 81–75 to No. 24 Nebraska on Saturday afternoon in Lincoln, but the final score hardly told the full story of a game defined by resilience, physicality and a second-half surge that forced the Cornhuskers to earn every possession down the stretch. […]
17 days ago | 1 read
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Keaton Wagler returned to the visiting locker room at Mackey Arena on Saturday afternoon, but he did so only after he had taken a moment to be embraced by his entire team following an electric 88-82 win over No. 4 Purdue. A few moments later, he jogged as he left the […]
17 days ago | 1 read
“You can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him.” – Dan Patrick Keaton Wagler has been nothing short of a revelation this season. That’s not news. That’s not a hot take. The freshman has met every single level of ascendingly hyperbolic praise with certainty. He’s not the kind of flashy AAU product that […]
17 days ago | 1 read
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Keaton Wagler walked into Mackey Arena with no fear. In Illinois’ second game without its engine, Kylan Boswell, Wagler decided it was the perfect time to step up and show what he can do in a brim-packed Mackey Arena with a historical 46-point performance in a nail-biting 88-82 victory at Mackey […]
17 days ago | 0 reads
Josh Whitman’s top assistant is leaving for a higher post. Oklahoma announced Friday that it is hiring Illinois deputy athletic director and chief operating officer Roger Denny to be the university’s next athletic director. According to ESPN, Denny’s legal background and skillset for the “new era” made him attractive for the Sooners. “Oklahoma has a […]
18 days ago | 3 reads
The Illini are hoping the junior can take it to another level on both ends of the floor with their starting PG out. When I first heard about Kylan Boswell’s hand injury, my mind immediately shifted to Mihailo Petrovic. Which makes a bit of sense, considering he is the backup point guard to Boswell, and […]
19 days ago | 0 reads
Tuesday, Brad Underwood broke news that senior guard Kylan Boswell suffered a fractured right hand in practice and will miss three to four weeks. The hope is he will return by mid-February. Boswell was having a great season, averaging 31.7 minutes, with 14.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists. He has been a stalwart on […]
20 days ago | 0 reads
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Much to the delight of Illini fans everywhere, defensive back Xavier Scott recently announced that he would be returning for the 2026 season. Scott has been a consistent star in the Illinois secondary and was eyeing his biggest year yet in 2025, especially with all the pre-season hype his team was garnering. […]
20 days ago | 1 read
After receiving news Tuesday that guard Kylan Boswell will miss several weeks with a fractured hand, Illinois finds itself facing major questions about how it will navigate the upcoming month without its veteran leader. Boswell is expected to miss several weeks and a return to action in mid-February is likely for the guard. Before being […]
20 days ago | 4 reads
How to Watch Illinois at Purdue Game Time: 2 p.m. Saturday TV Channel: Fox Online Streaming: FoxSportsGO Odds: N/A (Illinois 35% Chance To Win – ESPN Matchup Predictor) Quick Hits: No. 11 Illinois Fighting Illini (16-3, 7-1 Big Ten) Head Coach: Brad Underwood (9th season) Last Game: Illinois 89, Maryland 70 Gameday Reading: No. 4 Purdue Boilermakers (17-2, 7-1 […]
20 days ago | 2 reads
The future schedules are starting to be filled. Illinois announced Wednesday that it added a home game against Delaware to the 2027 schedule. The first-ever meeting with the Blue Hens will be Sept. 11, 2027 at Memorial Stadium. The other two non-conference showdowns in 2027 will be against Eastern Illinois (Aug. 28) and Missouri (TBA […]
20 days ago | 1 read
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – With Illinois’ senior leader out of the lineup for the first time in his collegiate career, the Illini needed everybody to step up and help fill the void. Junior guard Andrej Stojakovic certainly played his part, leading Illinois to its eighth-straight win in a 89-70 demolition job against Maryland at State Farm […]
20 days ago | 1 read
CHAMPAIGN — An absent Kylan Boswell sported a white sweatsuit during Illinois’ matchup against Maryland on Wednesday. His absence is due to an untimely fractured bone in his right hand that will sideline him for at least a month. Unfortunate for Illinois, considering how close this iteration of the team was to firmly settling into […]
20 days ago | 0 reads
Indiana completed its perfect season Monday night in winning its first national championship. No shock here, but the Hoosiers finished No. 1 in the final AP poll of the season when it was released on Tuesday. Go all the way down the top 25… and you won’t find Illinois, who finished with nine wins and […]
21 days ago | 2 reads
Illinois senior guard Kylan Boswell fractured a bone in his right hand during Monday’s practice and is expected to miss multiple weeks, per Illinois head coach Brad Underwood. Underwood expects Boswell to return to the court in mid-February. “It’s the ‘next man up’ mentality with our team,” Underwood said Tuesday. “It’s exciting that we’ve been […]
22 days ago | 0 reads
While beating two teams in the 80s in NET ranking comfortably but not convincingly this week might not seem like much, those kinds of workmanlike wins are necessary to maintain a high seed. Look around at what else happened this week, and we can appreciate the Illini’s effort more. There was no shame in Iowa […]
22 days ago | 2 reads
We are more than a quarter of the way through Big Ten conference play, and five teams have separated themselves as legitimate regular-season title contenders. Michigan, Purdue, Nebraska, Michigan State, and Illinois all have zero or one loss in league play and will be battling to be crowned champion. Illinois won a share of the […]
22 days ago | 1 read
On this episode of ’Oskee Talk’ I’m joined by Pleas Honeywood & Brandt Dolce to review Illinois’ victories against Northwestern & Minnesota (5:00) and the Illini exceeding early expectations (21:08). We also discuss Illinois’ veteran players deferring to Keaton Wagler (24:16), the freshman phenom’s rapid ascent (27:42), and the simplest explanation for the Illini’s 7-game […]
22 days ago | 2 reads
Heading into a big week, Illinois has reached its highest AP poll position since November. The Illini checked in Monday at No. 11, up from No. 13 last week. Illinois has gotten as high as No. 8 this season in mid-November after an undefeated start to the season. At 15-3 and on a seven-game winning […]
23 days ago | 0 reads
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A tight conference battle at home. Coming off a road loss at Michigan State earlier in the week, Illinois returned to the State Farm Center Sunday afternoon looking to respond against in-state rival Northwestern. The Illini did just that, holding off a late push from the Wildcats to secure a 74-71 win […]
23 days ago | 1 read