What Purdue's Matt Painter and Braden Smith Said About Illinois' Keaton Wagler

The Boilermakers' coach and all-star point guard both had plenty to say about Wagler's 46-point afternoon

Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter talks to Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, during the NCAA men’s basketball game at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. | Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Behind Keaton Wagler’s 46 points – which, mind you, came on just 17 field-goal attempts – Illinois escaped West Lafayette, Indiana, on Saturday with an 88-82 victory over Purdue in a nail-biter for the ages. The standout 6-foot-6 guard Wagler has been tremendous all season, but this performance wasn’t on anyone’s tarot cards.

That said, a pair of college hoops savants in Purdue coach Matt Painter and reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Braden Smith didn’t appear to be all that shocked by Wagler’s unearthly display. Here’s what each had to say about Wagler’s explosive outing:

Purdue's Matt Painter, Braden Smith on Illinois' Keaton Wagler's outing

Jan 24, 2026; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Keaton Wagler (23) looks to dribble around Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) during the first half at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

“He can create for himself and also create for others, and he’s probably a lottery pick,” said Smith, who went for 27 points and 12 assists himself. “So we went in the game knowing that he’s capable of doing that, and he had a good game and made a lot of shots. And, obviously, we didn’t do very good on him and got away from us.”

Smith rarely drew the assignment himself, as Purdue often elected to switch big men Oscar Cluff and Trey Kaufman-Renn on to Wagler – which proved to be a fatal mistake. In their defense, each played relatively sound defense, but Wagler just connected on absurdly tough shots.

Keaton Wagler scored the most points EVER by a visitor at Mackey 😱:

46 PTS
13-17 FG
9-11 3PT

WOW. pic.twitter.com/KVAd0B0W0A

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 24, 2026

“I just think he’s pretty special, to be honest," Smith said. "Obviously, going into the game, I knew what we all knew – the type of player he was [and] that he’s capable of doing something like that. But, obviously, it’s not just him. So we have to worry about everybody else.

“And I think we were just trying to switch stuff and make them go make one-on-one plays. And he hit a lot of tough shots. And it’s a lot of high-caliber shots that a tough player makes, and that’s what he did. So we got to tip our hat off to him. He played an unbelievable game and he beat us.”

And Smith wasn’t the only one heaving praise on Wagler. Also impressed – I mean, who wasn’t? – was Painter:

“First of all, just an impressive performance [from Wagler]. I thought he was fabulous. He has the ability with his step-backs to – even in switches – he’s going to take you and then just pull back and just get himself into a great rhythm. … And he hit a lot of tough shots over us, obviously.

“But hat’s off to him. That was probably the most impressive performance ... Evan Turner came in here one time and played pretty well. That’s probably one of the most impressive performances, if not the most impressive performance, we’ve had in Mackey Arena from an opponent.”

Wagler’s 46 points are indeed the most ever scored by an opposing player in the historical hoops venue. And the unflappable freshman tacked on four assists for good measure. His performance gave the Illini their first win in West Lafayette since 2020.