Keaton Wagler makes NCAA basketball history in win over Purdue

Coming into their game against Purdue on Saturday, the Illinois Fighting Illini were going to be short-handed because of the absence of Kylan Boswell due to a hand injury. But in his absence, freshman guard Keaton Wagler stepped up in a huge way, making NCAA history in the process as Illinois upset Purdue, 88-82.

Keaton Wagler dropped 46 points in Illinois’ win, making that the most points in history that any player has ever scored in a road win against a team ranked in the top-10 of the NCAA men’s basketball poll, as per Jeff Borzello of ESPN.

Wagler also added four assists in 39 minutes of play. He shot 13-of-17 (76.4 percent) from the field, 9-of-11 (81.8 percent) from the 3-point line and 11-of-13 (84.6 percent) from the free-throw line. With the win, Illinois improved to 17-3 overall and 8-1 in Big Ten Conference play.

In his first season with the Fighting Illini, Wagler has been a major contributor all season. Coming into Saturday’s game, he had appeared in 19 games thus far, all starts, at a little over 31 minutes per game. He had been averaging 15.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists with splits of 45.2 percent shooting from the field, 39.4 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 82.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

Wagler was coming off a strong all-around game in a win against Maryland, finishing with 13 points, seven rebounds and eight assists 32 minutes.

Illinois has been a solid team this season, one of the best in the Big Ten. The program is in year nine with Brad Underwood at the helm as head coach. Last season, the Fighting Illini finished 22-13 overall and 12-8 in the Big Ten, and were eliminated in the round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament.

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