Why Illinois Presents So Many Concerns for Indiana's Darian DeVries

Illinois' success this season stems from balance, versatility and size, traits that pose challenges for any opponent.

Then there's freshman Keaton Wagler, who has taken over some games and been a steadying presence in nearly all others. But Illinois's top-rated offense has five players averaging 10-plus points per game and three more chipping in at least five per game. The Illini are also 13th nationally in rebounding, with seven players grabbing more than four per game.

So as Indiana moves toward Sunday's noon CT tip-off against Illinois, Hoosiers coach Darian DeVries has a lot on his mind while trying to put together a game plan to beat the eighth-ranked Illini.

"There's a lot that concerns you when you watch Illinois," DeVries said. "I mean, they're a really, really good basketball team. I saw a stat the other day that they hold the record right now for the highest efficient offense in KenPom history. So they are just so big and balanced, and they do a great job of exploiting mismatches. And then they offensive rebound, so there's really not much of a weakness that you can really try to attack. So they present a lot of challenges for you in that way."

It may seem like a weakness that Illinois allows 26.5 three-point attempts per game – 321st nationally – especially against an Indiana team with multiple potent outside shooters. Lamar Wilkerson, the Big Ten's leading scorer (24.4 points per game) and a prolific marksman (38.7 percent on threes), is a prime example.

But Illinois coach Brad Underwood mentioned recently that he would rather give up low-percentage three-point attempts versus high-percentage two-point attempts. That philosophy is now baked into the Illini's game plans.

There's some risk involved with letting the Hoosiers launch from distance: They rank 28th nationally in three-pointers made per game (10.4) and 114th in three-point percentage (35.1 percent). But that's not to say the looks will be easy against a group of Illinois guards who stand 6-foot-6 and above, as well as 7-footers in Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic.

"Shooting threes is a big part of what we do on offense, but they're still gonna make it difficult," DeVries said. "You still gotta do things to get yourself into spots to create those opportunities. As we talked about offense, the same thing is true on defense. They just have so much size everywhere that when you do get in the paint, you gotta be pretty selective on how much you want to challenge them. But you still gotta get in there and try to get some rim opportunities, and that'll be a challenge for us.

While acknowledging Illinois' balance, there is arguably one player Indiana must direct extra defensive attention toward: Wagler. Averaging 21.8 points on 46.0 percent three-point shooting in conference play, Wagler is in the running for Big Ten Player of the Year.

As a 6-foot-6 point guard, Wagler is an especially difficult matchup for Indiana. Conor Enright and Tayton Conerway log most of the minutes at point guard for the Hoosiers, and both give up at least three inches to Wagler.

Keaton Wagler with 34 vs. Wisconsin. We're far past fluky at this point. Clearly a special shotmaker with unteachable feel using pacing/footwork creating space and driving. Averaging 24.6 points, 5.7 assists in 7 games since Boswell went down. pic.twitter.com/MtufrOQLwU
— Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) February 11, 2026

That could mean the 6-foot-6 Wilkerson or 6-foot-7 Nick Dorn spend time defending Wagler, but that would leave Indiana at an even greater size disadvantage elsewhere. It also doesn't deter Illinois' offensive approach of hunting for mismatches, with Wagler calling the shots.

"He's tough," DeVries said of Wagler. "They do such a good job of putting you in situations where you gotta choose if you wanna switch or if you wanna commit two to the ball, and then he makes the right decision if you put two to the ball. And they got shooting everywhere, so that's what makes him so difficult.

"When he does get the switch, he'll shoot it from anywhere, so you have to be so close. Then if you're too close, he's going by you and making the right play a lot of times. He has that ability, a little bit like Lamar, where he can just get 'em in a hurry. So I think you gotta try to just do as best job as you can to make sure he's got your focus all the time and not let him get started. Because once he does, he's really difficult to bring back."