Keaton Wagler Drops 46 in Statement Win Over No. 4 Purdue, Lifts Illinois to Signature Road Victory
**WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. ** - Mackey Arena is no place for the timid.
It's loud, it's packed, and it's relentless. But none of that fazed Keaton Wagler.
In just his second collegiate game without starting point guard Kylan Boswell running the show, the freshman guard delivered a performance that won’t be forgotten anytime soon. Wagler poured in a jaw-dropping 46 points - the most by an Illinois player in over a decade - as No.
11 Illinois stunned No. 4 Purdue, 88-82, snapping the Boilermakers’ home dominance and giving the Illini their first win at Mackey since 2021.
More than just a win, it was a statement. Illinois has now won nine straight - the longest streak of the Brad Underwood era - and this one might be the crown jewel.
“He takes the emotion out of it,” Underwood said postgame. “With a venue of 15,000 people all against him, he just plays. He just gave what the game gave him.”
Wagler didn’t just play - he took over. He scored Illinois’ first 14 points and had 24 by halftime, single-handedly keeping the Illini in the game while Purdue looked every bit the top-five team they are.
The Boilermakers were surgical early, shooting 63% from the field in the first half, converting 20 points off Illinois turnovers, and dominating the paint with a 44-14 edge. For a while, it looked like Wagler vs. the world.
But the second half told a different story.
Wagler stayed hot, adding another 22 points to his total, but this time, the rest of the Illini followed his lead. A barrage of clutch threes - four in a row - from Tomislav Ivisic, Jake Davis, and David Mirkovic flipped the script and helped Illinois seize control late.
Suddenly, it wasn’t just the Keaton Wagler show. It was a full-team effort, sparked by a freshman who simply refused to lose.
“Just shows how willing they are to let me go off,” Wagler said of his teammates.
Illinois clawed back behind the hustle plays that Underwood preaches - 13 offensive rebounds turned into 18 second-chance points. That’s how you win on the road in the Big Ten, especially against a team like Purdue, who came in with one of the most efficient offenses in the country.
“Offensive rebounding kept us in it,” Underwood said. And he wasn’t wrong.
Still, Purdue didn’t go quietly. Veteran point guard Braden Smith was electric, especially in the second half.
After dishing out seven assists in the first 20 minutes, Smith turned up the scoring after the break, pouring in 19 second-half points. He finished with 27 points, 12 assists, and three offensive boards - a stat line that would normally headline any game.
But not this one.
This night belonged to Wagler.
After Andrej Stojakovic’s breakout 30-point game last week against Maryland, many expected him to shoulder the load in Boswell’s absence. But nobody - not even the most optimistic Illini fan - saw this coming.
Forty-six points. On the road.
Against a top-five team. In one of the loudest, most hostile arenas in the country.
“The game just flows to him,” Underwood said. “He’s gonna make the right basketball play almost every time.”
Wagler didn’t just make the right plays - he made history. And in doing so, he may have just changed the ceiling for this Illinois team.