The newly-ranked No. 5 Illinois Fighting Illini continue to be one of the hottest teams in college basketball. It’s due in large part to their freshman guard Keaton Wagler propelling them offensively.
Following a 78-69 win against the now-No. 9-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers Sunday, Cornhuskers coach Fred Hoiberg raved about Wagler’s recent success alongside why he is a difficult matchup to prepare for.
“Listen, [Keaton] Wagler’s playing as a first-team All-American right now,” Hoiberg told reporters. “They’re just getting the ball in his hands and letting him go to work and iso. And they’ve got shooting all around him.”
Hoiberg noted that since the Illini have been making waves nationally with each win, Wagler has gotten a bulk of the attention. But for those paying close attention to the Illini, this is an old, yet consistently good habit.
“Well, he’s been doing it all year,” Hoiberg said. “He finds a way to get to the rim. He gets to the line – and he got to the line 12 times [today].”
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Wagler’s coach, Brad Underwood, said that with nine games to go before the Big Ten Tournament commences in Chicago, Wagler’s ceiling isn’t quite there just yet.
“His [shooting] percentage would be really good if we quit throwing him the ball at the end of the shot clock, and he has to jack them from half-court,” Underwood told reporters.
Nonetheless, both coaches have solid arguments about the five-time Big Ten Freshman Player of the Week. Of course, Hoiberg may or may not get another crack at Wagler’s Illini barring respective tournament seedings. But it’s clear the respect is there.
The Cornhuskers (20-2, 9-2 Big Ten) will try to snap their two-game skid Saturday against the Rutgers Scarlett Knights (9-13, 2-9 Big Ten). Contrary to that, Illinois (19-3, 10-1 Big Ten) tries to stay in conference title contention with two games in three days.
Wednesday, the Illini rematch the Northwestern Wildcats (10-12, 2-9 Big Ten) in the final regular-season meeting between the two in-state rivals. Illinois was able to hold off the Wildcats by the identical score as its revenge win against the Cornhuskers when the two teams met Jan. 14 in Evanston.
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Then, the real fun begins when the Illini head to the Breslin Center in East Lansing Saturday night in their lone regular-season game against No. 10-ranked Michigan State (19-3, 9-2 Big Ten). Similar to Illinois, the Spartans will have come off a quick turnaround from this past Friday’s 83-71 loss to the newly-ranked No. 2 Michigan Wolverines (20-1, 10-1 Big Ten) when they try to snag a road win in Minneapolis Wednesday against the Minnesota Golden Gophers (10-12, 3-8 Big Ten).
With the league about to undergo immense movement in the final month leading up to the conference tournament, the Illini have a chance to keep making more unprecedented feats come true and potentially increase their winning streak even further.
Only time will tell, though.
