Illinois' Keaton Wagler's 46 points send Purdue to second-straight Big Ten loss

In the end, just too much Keaton Wagler.

The Illinois freshman used Mackey Arena as her personal playground on Saturday, carrying the 11^th-ranked Fighting Illini to an important 88-82 victory over No. 4 Purdue.

The loss is the second straight for the Boilermakers, who were beaten in the final second at UCLA on Tuesday. They now trailed league-leading Nebraska by two games. Illinois remains one game back of the Huskers with one conference loss.

Purdue dominated the paint, limited its turnovers, and shot a high percentage for most of the game. But Wagler was a one-man show until his teammates helped secure the win.

Jake Davis, David Mirkovic, and Tomislav Ivisic each drained 3-pointers in the final 2:29 to give Illinois an 82-77 lead with 57 seconds to play. But the Illini need one more from Wagler, whose short jumper pushed the advantage to 84-80 with 10.3 seconds to play.

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PURDUE COACH MATT PAINTER

PURDUE’S BRADEN SMITH, OSCAR CLUFF AND TREY KAUFMAN-RENN

Wagler finished with a career-high 46 points, scoring his team’s first 14 to set the tone. Wagler had 24 by halftime, but the Boilermakers still had the lead. His previous career high was 23 points. The 46 points are a single-game record for an opponent at Mackey Arena.

“That was probably the most impressive performance … Evan Turner came in here one time and played pretty well,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “That’s probably one of the most impressive performances, if not the most impressive performance, we’ve had in Mackey Arena from an opponent.”

The Illini sent a strong signal at the start of the second half, scoring the first seven points. It was part of a 13-0 run from the end of the first half, when Purdue led 43-33.

Wagler blistered the nets from 3-point range, hitting 9 of 11. He was 13 of 17 overall.

Each time the Boilermakers started to mount a run, Wagler knocked down a big shot from the perimeter or scored off the dribble. Wagler took advantage of Purdue’s switches when he was defended by post players.  

Illinois controlled the boards, collecting 11 offensive rebounds and converting them into 18 second-chance points. The Illini also connected on 18 3-pointers compared to seven for Purdue.

In the second half, the lead seemed to change hands on every possession. Braden Smith, who twisted his ankle and left for a brief period, kept answering Wagler by scoring 19 of his 27 points down the stretch. Smith added 12 assists.

The two point guards combined for 73 points on 24 of 33 shooting, including 11 of 14 from 3-point range, and 16 assists in a total of 73 minutes.

“It was two high-level offensive teams that showed why tonight,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “(Purdue is) awfully good. They’re very good for a reason. Braden’s the best point guard in the history of this league, and tonight was probably the night we had the best player on the court.”

“HE WAS FABULOUS”

What can be said about Wagler’s performance?

Plenty. From both sides.

“Just an impressive performance. I thought he was fabulous,” Painter said. “He has the ability, with his step backs to even in switches, he’s going to take you and then just pull back and just get himself into a great rhythm.

“And that’s something we talked about. Do we play out of a drop there and just figure back to it, and then he’s just going dribble back and play one-on-one basketball, or do we hedge it, get the ball out of his hands?”

Painter wanted his defense to stay out of rotations near the end of the game, but found itself in scramble mode because of the attention paid to Wagler and the Illini’s offensive rebounds.

“He hit a lot of tough shots over us,” Painter said.

For Wagler, it was a game unlike any other he’s played. He mentioned a 32-point performance from high school days in Shawnee, Kan, but nothing like what transpired on Saturday in front of one of the most hostile environments in the nation.

But the 6-foot-6 Wagler quieted the crowd with his pinpoint shooting and play-making abilities.

“He can create for himself and also create for others, and he’s probably a lottery pick,” Smith said. “We went into the game knowing that he’s capable of doing that.”

Wagler started his historic day with a layup before missing a 3-pointer. After a turnover, he made five consecutive 3-pointers over a three-minute stretch. From that moment, the special night was taking shape.

His 46 points surpassed Michigan State’s Sam Vincent (1985) and Idaho’s Willie Humes (1969), both of whom scored 39 in Mackey Arena. Wagler scored the third-most points against the Boilermakers in program history behind Ohio State’s Gary Bradds (47 in 1964) and St. Bonaventure’s Bob Lanier (50 in 1969).

“I thought Keaton was like nothing I’ve seen in my 39 years, and especially in a top-five or top-10 matchup,” Underwood said. “I guess we’re not in the top 10, but we just took advantage of their coverages, their switches, and tried to space, and Keaton made it really look easy. I don’t mean that in a negative way at all. He just took what the defense gave him, and then when we did miss, we got the offensive rebound.”

The Boilermakers appeared on their way to a win, leading by five with 4:36 to play. But that’s when the trio of Illinois began to bury 3-pointers, with Wagler handing out assists on two of the big shots.

“It’s a crazy thing that I really never thought that I would do,” Wagler said of his 46 points. “I just let the game come to me, and it was my night tonight, and I think my teammates knew that too. They were trying to find me and just go to work, and that’s what happened.”

MORE PHYSICAL, TOUGHER

As Underwood mentioned, the Illini’s performance on the offensive board was huge.

They held an 18-2 advantage in second-chance points, thanks to 13 offensive rebounds, and continued to pound the Boilermakers. Overall, Illinois was +14 in the rebounding department.

Purdue’s most reliable rebounders, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Oscar Cluff, combined for three defensive rebounds. However, the pair were usually on the perimeter battling through ball screens and were not in a prime position to clean up missed shots.

“They played more physical than us and played tougher than us,” said Cluff, whose nine points pushed him over 1,000 career points.

Said Kaufman-Renn: “What Oscar said.”

The Boilermakers have been solid on the boards most of the season, limiting opponents to second-chance opportunities. But that’s a strength of the Illini, and it showed up in big moments on Saturday.

“Wagner was fabulous, and made big shot after big shot, but if we handle a couple of those free-throw box-outs, we even that up,” Painter said. “There’s no doubt that we win this game, but we didn’t. Give them credit, they’re great at offensive rebounding.”

“LOSING STINKS”

A quick glance at the box score reveals a path to victory for the Boilermakers.

They shot 56.9% from the field, connected on 7 of 19 from 3-point range, made 81.8% from the line, collected 44 points in the paint, scored 20 points off 10 Illinois turnovers, and committed only three turnovers.

But the 46 points from Wagler clearly stand out, and so do the second-chance opportunities.

“That’s a win,” Painter said. “But then all of a sudden, you got out-rebounded by 14. And there lies the difference.”

Per Purdue Athletics Communications, the Boilermakers became the first team in the Stathead database (20 years) to shoot over 56% from the field, score 80 or more points, and have three or fewer turnovers and lose.

Now, Purdue is saddled with a two-game losing streak and will need to make up ground in the Big Ten standings. Up next are a pair of road games, starting Tuesday at Indiana and traveling to Maryland in one week.

“Just think, you have to move on to the next one. We have a good team on Tuesday,” Kaufman-Renn said.

The Boilermakers started the Big Ten schedule 7-0 before the last two losses. The last-second loss at UCLA and Saturday’s setback stripped away some of the momentum.

“You start off 7-0, and then you have two tough losses like this, no matter who you’re playing, you just want this taste out of your mouth. Losing stinks,” Painter said. “We’ve got to go on the road and play a good basketball team.

“The thing with it is that these guys, they were 18 for 38 from (3-point range). Indiana, that’s their strength, is shooting the basketball, and you jump right back into that beehive.”