{"id":238883,"date":"2026-01-15T06:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T06:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/238883\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T06:10:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T06:10:08","slug":"13-illinois-extends-win-streak-with-79-68-win-at-northwestern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/238883\/","title":{"rendered":"#13 Illinois Extends Win Streak With 79-68 Win at Northwestern"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>                    &#13;<br \/>\n                        &#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<\/p>\n<p>                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Minnesota-200.png\" alt=\"Minnesota\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                Next Game:<\/p>\n<p> Minnesota<\/p>\n<p>1\/17\/2026 | 11 am CT<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n                        BTN  &#13;\n                    <\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n                        Busey Bank Illini Sports Network&#13;\n                    <\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n                    Jan. 17 (Sat) \/ 11 am CT&#13;\n                <\/p>\n<p>                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sidearm-story-template-next-game-opponent-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Minnesota-200.png\" alt=\"Minnesota\"\/><\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n                        \u00a0Minnesota&#13;\n                    <\/p>\n<p>                    <a class=\"sidearm-story-template-next-game-details-history\" href=\"https:\/\/fightingillini.com\/sports\/mens-basketball\/opponent-history\/minnesota\/20\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">History <\/a><\/p>\n<p>                             &#13;<\/p>\n<p>EVANSTON, Ill. \u2013 No. 13 Illinois captured a 79-68 road win at Northwestern on Wednesday night, extending the Fighting Illini&#8217;s season-long win streak to six games behind 22 points from <a href=\"https:\/\/fightingillini.com\/sports\/mens-basketball\/roster\/keaton-wagler\/15216\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"15216\" target=\"_blank\">Keaton Wagler<\/a> and 21 from <a href=\"https:\/\/fightingillini.com\/sports\/mens-basketball\/roster\/tomislav-ivisic\/14520\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14520\" target=\"_blank\">Tomislav Ivisic<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>With the win, the Illini (14-3, 5-1 B1G) are off to their best 17-game start since the 2012-13 and improve to 4-0 on the road in Big Ten play for the first time since 2004-05.<\/p>\n<p>Wagler poured in 20 of his 22 points in the second half \u2013 the most by a Big Ten freshman in a single stanza this season \u2013 including 3-for-5 from 3-point range and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line.<\/p>\n<p>Ivisic scored 14 points after the break, also knocking down three of his four 3-pointers after the intermission. He finished as the Illini&#8217;s top rebounder with seven total rebounds. He and Wagler (five total rebounds) each posted three offensive rebounds in the contest.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fightingillini.com\/sports\/mens-basketball\/roster\/kylan-boswell\/14523\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14523\" target=\"_blank\">Kylan Boswell<\/a> also finished in double-figures scoring with 13 points for the Illini, while adding four rebounds and a game-high six assists and two steals.<\/p>\n<p>The first half was a back-and-forth battle that featured eight lead changes before an Illini run to close the period gave the Orange and Blue a lead they would not relinquish. Trailing 27-25, the Illini closed the period by outscoring the Wildcats 13-6 over the final four minutes of action to take control. Boswell accounted for the Illini&#8217;s final five points of the half.<\/p>\n<p>Back-to-back 3-pointers from Wagler and Ivisic pushed the Illini lead into double-figures, 46-35, with 18 minutes to play. And a 9-0 Illini run that included a triple from <a href=\"https:\/\/fightingillini.com\/sports\/mens-basketball\/roster\/jake-davis\/14518\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14518\" target=\"_blank\">Jake Davis<\/a> followed by six straight points from Wagler extended the lead to 62-47 just past the midway point of the period.<\/p>\n<p>Northwestern answered with a 10-0 run of their own to pull back within five points, 62-57. But Ivisic (11 points), Wagler (four), and Boswell (two) combined to score all 17 of the Illini&#8217;s points over the final 7:12 to close out the double-digit road win.<\/p>\n<p>Illinois outscored Northwestern, 34-18, in the paint. The Orange and Blue also knocked down 11 3-pointers, the team&#8217;s Big Ten-leading 12th game of the season with at least 10 triples.<\/p>\n<p>Next up, Illinois returns to State Farm Center to open a two-game homestand Saturday vs. Minnesota. Tipoff vs. the Golden Gophers is set for 11 a.m. CT on BTN.<\/p>\n<p>HIGHLIGHTS<\/p>\n<p>PRESS CONFERENCE<\/p>\n<p>POSTGAME NOTES<\/p>\n<p>Player Notes<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/fightingillini.com\/sports\/mens-basketball\/roster\/keaton-wagler\/15216\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"15216\" target=\"_blank\">Keaton Wagler<\/a> poured in a game-high 22 points, including 20 points and three 3-pointers in the second half, while adding five rebounds (three offensive) and three assists.&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t14th double-digit scoring game of the season and fourth with 20+ points.&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t20 second-half points are the most by a Big Ten player this season.&#13;<br \/>\n\t\tTeam-most sixth game as the Illini&#8217;s leading scorer&#13;<br \/>\n\t\tNinth straight game with 10+ points, averaging 18.3 ppg during that stretch&#13;<br \/>\n\t\tNinth game of the season with multiple 3-pointers.&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\tAt least one 3-pointer in 16 of the first 17 games of his collegiate career, the most games with a triple on the team this season.&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/fightingillini.com\/sports\/mens-basketball\/roster\/tomislav-ivisic\/14520\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14520\" target=\"_blank\">Tomislav Ivisic<\/a> knocked down four 3-pointers to finish with 21 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds (three offensive)&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\tSecond game of the season, seventh career, with 20+ points. \u00a0&#13;<br \/>\n\t\tSixth game of the season, 20th career, with multiple 3-pointers&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t77 3-pointers as an Illini, the most nationally among 7-footers over the last two seasons.&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/fightingillini.com\/sports\/mens-basketball\/roster\/kylan-boswell\/14523\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14523\" target=\"_blank\">Kylan Boswell<\/a> posted 13 points, four rebounds (two offensive), and game-high totals with six assists and two steals. \u00a0&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t12th double-digit scoring game of the season and the 36th of his Illinois career in 51 games.&#13;<br \/>\n\t\tFourth game of the season and 15th of his career with 5+ assists.&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<\/p>\n<p>Team Notes<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tStarters: <a href=\"https:\/\/fightingillini.com\/sports\/mens-basketball\/roster\/kylan-boswell\/14523\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14523\" target=\"_blank\">Kylan Boswell<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/fightingillini.com\/sports\/mens-basketball\/roster\/ben-humrichous\/14519\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14519\" target=\"_blank\">Ben Humrichous<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/fightingillini.com\/sports\/mens-basketball\/roster\/tomislav-ivisic\/14520\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"14520\" target=\"_blank\">Tomislav Ivisic<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/fightingillini.com\/sports\/mens-basketball\/roster\/andrej-stojakovic\/15217\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"15217\" target=\"_blank\">Andrej Stojakovic<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/fightingillini.com\/sports\/mens-basketball\/roster\/keaton-wagler\/15216\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"15216\" target=\"_blank\">Keaton Wagler<\/a>.&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\tFifth different lineup of the season.&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\tIllinois has recorded five Quad 1 wins this season, tied for the second-most in the nation.&#13;<br \/>\n\tIllinois moves to 14-3 overall, the team&#8217;s best 17-game start since 2012-13.&#13;<br \/>\n\tIllinois improves to 146-45 all-time vs. Northwestern and 66-31 in road games vs. the Wildcats.&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\tHead coach <a href=\"https:\/\/fightingillini.com\/sports\/mens-basketball\/roster\/coaches\/brad-underwood\/2102\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"2102\" target=\"_blank\">Brad Underwood<\/a> has led the Illini to an 11-5 record vs. Northwestern.&#13;<br \/>\n\t\tUnderwood led Illinois to its second straight win over Northwestern, overall, and the Illini&#8217;s first win at Welsh-Ryan Arena since Jan. 29, 2022, snapping a three-game skid on the road vs. the Wildcats.&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\tIllinois has won six straight games since Dec. 22, the team&#8217;s longest win streak of the season.&#13;<br \/>\n\tThe Illini are 6-2 away from home this season with a 4-0 mark on the road.&#13;<br \/>\n\tIllinois is 4-0 in road games in Big Ten play for the first time since 2004-05.&#13;<br \/>\n\tThe Illini have won five straight Big Ten road games dating back to last seasons, the program&#8217;s longest such streak since also claiming five straight conference road wins from Dec. 23, 2020 to Feb. 20, 2021.&#13;<br \/>\n\tIllinois outrebounded Northwestern, 33-30.&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\tIllinois has outrebounded 15 of 17 opponents this season with a 13-2 record in those contests.&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\tThe Illini knocked down 11 3-pointers and improved to 10-2 in 12 games this season with at least 10 triples.&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\tIllinois 12 games with 10+ 3-pointers are the most in the Big Ten this season.&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\tThe #13 Illini are:&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t666-270 (.712) all-time when ranked inside the AP Top 25, including a 164-150 (.522) on the road.&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t56-7 (.889) all-time when facing Northwestern as a ranked team.&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t86th Big Ten win since 2019-20, one behind Purdue for the most in the league over the last seven seasons.&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t\tIllinois has won a Big Ten-best 39 road games in league play over the last seven seasons.&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<br \/>\n\t&#13;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&#13; &#13; &#13; Next Game: Minnesota 1\/17\/2026 | 11 am CT &#13; BTN &#13; &#13; Busey Bank Illini&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":238884,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-238883","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}