All articles tagged with #keaton wagler
ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg revealed his top five players for the 2026 Men’s March Madness, highlighting Cameron Boozer (Duke), Darius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas), AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Keaton Wagler (Illinois), and Darryn Peterson (Kansas) as potential game-changers with elite scoring, versatility and NBA upside, while noting questions about fit, health, and how well they’ll carry their teams through the tournament.
Keaton Wagler, a formerly underrecruited freshman for Illinois, exploded for 46 points to power No. 11 Illinois past No. 4 Purdue 88-82, delivering one of the most memorable freshman performances in recent college basketball.
Freshman Keaton Wagler scored a career-high 46 points (nine 3-pointers) to lift No. 11 Illinois to an 88-82 road win over No. 4 Purdue at Mackey Arena. Illinois hit 18-of-38 from 3 while Purdue was 7-of-19, and Wagler sealed the win with a late jumper and two free throws after Braden Smith trimmed the margin. Illinois improves to 17-3 (8-1 Big Ten); Purdue falls to 17-3 (7-2). Illinois played without reserve center Jason Jakstys, and guard Kyle Boswell was out for at least a month.
Illinois Fighting Illini earned a 75-69 road win over Iowa, with Keaton Wagler scoring 19 and Andrej Stojakovic and Kylan Boswell adding 17 each to fuel a 35-24 halftime lead that the Illini would ride to the finish. Iowa mounted a late rally, trimming a double-digit deficit but couldn’t overtake Illinois, which improves to 13-3 (4-1 Big Ten) while Iowa drops to 12-4 (2-3).