Indiana Stumbles at No. 8/7 Illinois

Sunday, February 15

Champaign, Ill.

1:00 PM

Indiana University

17-9,8-7Big Ten

Illinois

21-5,12-3Big Ten

Indiana

Illinois

2/15/2026 4:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- There was no mystery in the aftermath of Indiana's 71-51 loss at top-10 Illinois.

The Illini (21-5 overall, 12-3 in the Big Ten) controlled the rebounding, and then the game to snap a two-game losing streak and blunt Hoosier (17-9, 8-7) momentum.

"You could tell (Illinois) had a lot of purpose, especially in the rebound department," coach Darian DeVries told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer during Sunday's post-game radio show. "They had talked about it. After their two losses, they had to get back to wining the offensive rebounding battle. Unfortunately, we just didn't match that. That was the difference in the game, the 15 offensive rebounds we gave up."

Illinois, the nation's tallest team, had lost some of its offensive-rebounding dominance in overtime losses to Michigan State and Wisconsin. The Illini's determination to fix that resulted in 15 offense rebounds and a 17-5 advantage in second-chance points. They had an overall 38-25 rebounding edge.

"(Offensive rebounds) had a huge impact on the game," Darian DeVries told Fischer. "Even more than that, it was having to guard another possession. It didn't allow us to play in transition against a broken floor.

"We did a pretty good job in the halfcourt (defense). (Illinois) didn't get a ton of clean looks, but they shot 31 3-pointers, and that led to long rebounds. We weren't able to corral enough of them."

Guard Lamar Wilkerson scored 11 straight IU points to end the first half and start the second and finished with 21 points.

It wasn't enough,

Forward Tucker DeVries added 13 points. Forward Sam Alexis had 11 points and eight rebounds.

In the second half, the Hoosiers, who had won five of their previous six games, had seven turnovers while shooting just 33.3% overall, including 2-for-11 from 3-point range. They finished just 6-for-24 (25.0%) from beyond the arc.

"We had some good (second-half shooting) opportunities that could have kept us within striking distance," Darian DeVries told Fisher. "We had the guys we like shooting them. We didn't convert them the way we needed to keep pace with what Illinois was doing on the other end."

Standout Illinois guard Kylan Boswell was back after missing the previous six games with a broken hand. He finished with nine points, seven rebounds, and two assists. Forward David Mirkovic led with 25 points and seven rebounds.

The Illini were 7-for-31 on 3-pointers (22.6%).

Alexis started the Hoosiers with a dunk and an inside hook shot. Triples by Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries gave IU and early 11-9 lead. A 10-0 run boosted Illinois to a 24-15 lead before Jasai Miles hit a 3-pointer -- just his fourth of the season -- with nine minutes left in the half. Wilkerson followed with a 3-pointer for a 24-21 score. The Illini responded with consecutive 3-pointers. Reed Bailey countered with a power layup, but it wasn't enough. Illinois reached halftime 38-31. IU, led by Wilkerson's 14 points, shot 46.4% from the field with six assists and two turnovers. Illinois shot 45.5% with seven assists and one turnover.

IU committed three early turnovers and missed its first two shots to fall behind 43-31 three minutes into the second half. Five straight Wilkerson points cut the lead to seven. Six straight Illini points boosted them ahead 49-36 at the 14-minute mark. Freshman guard Keaton Wagler's 3-pointer helped Illinois push ahead by 18 before a Wilkerson basket stopped the 11-0 run.

It was too little, too late.

The Hoosiers will get another break before playing at No. 13/12 Purdue (21-4, 11-3) Friday night.