CHAMPAIGN — Keaton Wagler scored 17 points and Tomislav Ivišić added 14 to lead No. 16 Illinois to an 81-55 victory over Rutgers on Thursday night.
Andrej Stojaković had 12 points and eight rebounds, Jake Davis scored a 12 points and David Mirković had eight points and eight rebounds for the Illini (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten), who won their fourth straight.
Illinois was 18 of 21 from the free-throw line. The Illini lead the Big Ten and are No. 3 in the country in free-throw percentage.
Kaden Powers scored 12 points and Harun Zrno had 11 points for Rutgers (8-8, 1-4).
Illinois went on a 20-0 run in the final 7 minutes, 59 seconds of the first half for a 43-16 halftime lead. Davis scored all 12 of his points on four 3-pointers in the first half, just four fewer points than the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers shot 21% (6 of 28) from the floor in the opening half, including 2 of 13 on 3s, and was 2 of 6 on free throws.
Tarik Francis, Rutgers’ leading scorer, had an off night. He scored six points on 3-of-10 shooting while playing just 17 minutes after averaging 25 points in the Scarlet Knights’ previous four games.
Francis has had two 30-point games this season. He’s the only Big Ten player in the last 10 seasons with multiple 30-point games off the bench in the same season.
Illinois improved to 9-0 at home against Rutgers, 8-0 since the Scarlet Knights joined the conference in 2015. The Illini are 14-5 overall in the series, although the teams split their previous eight games.
Up next
- Rutgers: vs. Northwestern on Sunday.
- Illinois: at No. 19 Iowa on Sunday.