Illinois Downs Ohio State Behind Wagler's Elite Performance

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00:00Now, Illinois is one of those teams that's having a very nice season, Mike,

00:03and maybe a surprise to some.

00:04They're ranked 13th in the country, maybe going to be inside the top 10

00:07if they pick up a win this weekend.

00:09They beat Ohio State 88-80.

00:12Eaton Wagler had 23 points in this one.

00:15And Illinois, to win the Big Ten, in terms of their odds, Mike,

00:18they have moved up significantly ahead of Michigan State.

00:22And Tom Izzo, which is a bit of a surprise here,

00:24only Purdue and Michigan behind them.

00:26What's gone right for the Illini this season?

00:30The fascinating thing about Illinois is that there was so much media conversation

00:35about the number of players that they brought in with Eastern European ties,

00:41including two guys who were playing at the Division I level in Europe last season.

00:47And the guy who's – he's not the best player, but Keaton Wagler is the kind of player

00:53who has made the difference.

00:55He's playing some at point guard, some on the wing.

00:58He's got so much ability.

01:01And he was the 140th rated player in the freshman class, 140th.

01:06And right now he's got a shot at all Big Ten.

01:09That's how well he has played.

01:12Stojakovic, Andre Stojakovic, has probably been Illinois' best pure player

01:16and the player that opponents really have to deal with and worry about in preparation.

01:21He is Paige's son, and he is a guy who can get you 25, 30 any night that people don't take him away.

01:28But Wagler has been fantastic.

01:31And Kylan Boswell has been a gift as well.

01:35Was brought in to be a defensive stopper type player and has been terrific on offense for most of this season.

01:43There's a lot of really quality players.

01:45And I haven't even gotten to the Avicic twins, to what they get out of David Mirkovic in the front court.

01:52This is a team that certainly has Final Four, if not national championship capabilities.

01:57And so we've already talked about Michigan.

01:59Purdue had the rough stretch over the weekend against Iowa State, but that's another team that can get there.

02:05This may be the best Big Ten in terms of high-end teams that we've seen in a while.