Three Instant Observations From Illinois Basketball's 75-69 Win at Iowa

What began as a blowout morphed into a barnburner, but No. 16 Illinois had just enough firepower and fortune left in the end to hold off a rally from No. 19 Iowa in a 75-69 win Sunday at Iowa City. The Illini defense was stifling in the first half – especially while the visitors were building a 21-5 lead and silencing Carver-Hawkeye Arena – and the offense finished things off.

More specifically, it was Keaton Wagler and Kylan Boswell who were conscripted into closing duties, scoring Illinois' final 17 points as the Illinois offensive scheme – such as it is – more or less ground to a halt. Wagler finished with a game-high 19 points (including four threes), while Boswell and wing Andrej Stojakovic – whose early heater helped lift the Illini – added 17 points apiece.

Here are three more observations from a valuable Illinois win over a ranked-on-the-road opponent:

1. Thank heavens for scoring talent

In the first half, it was Stojakovic, who had 17 points before halftime and nine during that initial Illini burst. After the break, it was Wagler who took over, scoring 16 of his 19 in the second half. And although it wasn't all single-handed, much of that scoring was created off isolation offense and individual gifts from the basketball gods.

Keaton Wagler knocks it down 🔥 @IlliniMBB

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/O60wAyZowT
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 11, 2026

Stojakovic had one gorgeous post move featuring footwork that was a cross between Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson, and Wagler launched – and landed – multiple threes from well beyond the arc, and with a defender lurking nearby, to keep pressure on the Hawkeyes (especially after Bennett Stirtz went out with four trouble). Few teams in the country have the luxury of scoring riches Illinois can claim.

2. But what about the Xs and Os?

Do we harp on the Illinois offensive scheme too much on these pages? Only if you're an Illini fan who likes watching one guy try to create magic while four of his teammates stand around gawking. Look, Brad Underwood has done an excellent job of bringing the aforementioned talent to Champaign, and there's no reason not to lean into the abilities of Wagler, Stojakovic and the other creators scattered across the Illini roster.

Big block by Alvaro Folgueiras 😤 @IowaHoops

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/ccXnRjcGbl
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 11, 2026

Still, there's a reason the offense bogs down for stretches in most games against quality opponents, and it isn't because the staff on the sideline is drawing up the wrong plans on the whiteboard. Too often, it seems, there is no whiteboard. Iowa is an undersized and overmatched opponent, yet the Hawkeyes – like every well-coached team with decent talent that the Illini have faced – eventually found an approach to neutralize Illinois' high-ball-screen-and-stand-around offense.

On those occasions when the Illini face a couple of lockdown one-on-one defenders or an opponent with the size and athleticism to switch, help and recover against them, their individual talents won't be sufficient for them to skate by on.

3. The defense is still under construction

When Iowa was held to just five points over the first 10-plus minutes of the game and finished the first half with 24 points on 9-for-28 shooting (32.1 percent), Illinois' defense looked airtight. The Illini hounded Stirtz, stayed between offensive threats and the rim, and generally finished off possessions.

Tate Sage drops it in 👏 @IowaHoops

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/3xxXdlMFHP
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 11, 2026

The mojo vanished in the second half, when the Hawkeyes frequently beat the Illini help to the rim on screen-and-roll, burned them on wide-open back cuts and collected seven offensive rebounds (and outrebounded Illinois overall after halftime). That Iowa was able to do it all with Stirtz sitting through roughly half of it is inexcusable. The defense is a force when the Illini play connected and on time, but they still wind up in a jumbled mess too often for comfort.