By IlliniGuys Staff

February 10, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Keaton Wagler bounced back from his worst shooting night in 2026 with 34 points, but 8th ranked Illinois went cold in the second half to allow Wisconsin to rally to a 92-90 overtime win Tuesday night.

It's the second straight loss - both in overtime - for Illinois (20-5, 11-3 in Big Ten) after they won 12 in a row.

The Illini were without starting guard Kylan Boswell, still recovering from a broken hand three weeks ago, and starting forward Andrej Stojakovic, who dressed but did not play due to a sprained ankle.

They almost got the win without them. Wagler scored 23 of his points after halftime as he joins Kiwane Garris in 1994 as the only Illini freshmen to post multiple 30-point games in the same season. The 6-foot-6 guard from Shawnee Mission, Kansas scored an Illinois freshman record 46 points at Purdue last month.

Illinois took their biggest lead of the game at 71-59 when Wagler hit a free throw to complete a three-point play with 8:10 left. But the Illini managed just two field goals in the rest of regulation as the Badgers closed on a 21-10 half to force overtime.

Illinois had a chance to win it in the final seconds, but Wagler missed the second of two free throws with 33 seconds left for an 81-81 tie. John Blackwell missed a potential game-winning three-pointer as the game went to overtime. Illinois, the 5th best free throw shooting team in the country at 79.1 percent, hit just 11-of-19 at the line.

Wisconsin (17-7, 9-4 in Big Ten) took advantage of Illinois' poor shooting to score the first eight points of the extra period to take the lead for good. Illinois climbed within 91-90 on a three-pointer by Ben Humrichous with six seconds remaining, but the Illini suffered their first home loss to the Badgers since January 2019.

Wagler, who is 32 points shy of the all-time Illinois freshman scoring record set by Cory Bradford in 1999 and tied by Kasparas Jakucionis last year, dished out seven assists while notching career highs with 44 minutes and five turnovers.

Tomislav Ivisic recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. David Mirkovic had 12 points, Jake Davis scored 11, and Humrichous 10 in the loss.

Nick Boyd scored 25 points and Blackwell 24 to lead Wisconsin.

Illinois falls 1 1/2 games behind Big Ten frontrunner Michigan as they now prepare for a home date with Indiana on Sunday (12pm CT, CBS).

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