Why Keaton Wagler's Struggles at Michigan State Could be a Positive Sign for Illinois

Ever since Kylan Boswell was sidelined due to a broken hand in mid-January, the reins of Illinois' have been altogether relinquished to freshman guard Keaton Wagler.

The impressively balanced Illini shifted from a five-pronged attack to a one-man show in Wagler. His usage rate shot up – and for good reason. But it begged the question, or at least should have: What happens when Wagler comes out of the game?

Be it foul trouble, a breather or any other scenario that pushed Wagler out of the game, how would the Illini operate without him? Who would have the answers in high-level games? Well, that specific situation didn’t arise on Saturday night against Michigan State in East Lansing, but a different, unforeseen one did: an off night.

Contrary to popular belief, Wagler, like the rest of us, is mortal. An bad game, at some point, was inevitable. That's basketball. It can’t be your night every night. And on Saturday, it was most definitely not Wagler’s night.

Why Keaton Wagler's off night was actually encouraging for Illinois

To his credit, Wagler’s confidence never wavered. The emotionless look constantly plastered across his face during games remained present for all 41 of his minutes against the Spartans. And despite stifling, extremely physical defense from Michigan State, Wagler continued to be aggressive, ultimately going 2-for-16 from the field but also drawing a number of whistles (he went 10-for-12 from the free-throw line).

At times, though, Wagler’s shot selection was detrimental to the Illini. Before Saturday, he seemingly never forced the issue – but against the Spartans, that changed. Wagler was desperate to find his rhythm and get a bucket for his club. But that led to ill-advised decisions and tough shots that only drove him deeper into a rut – not to mention allowing Michigan State to close the gap throughout the second half.

Yet even with Wagler, for the first time, taking more off the table than he added to it, Illinois still managed to put up 82 points (albeit with the help of five extra minutes in overtime) against the fourth-rated defense in the country. If you're an Illini fan, that's as close as you're going to get to a win coming out of Saturday.

Fellow freshman David Mirkovic showed up in a massive way. He displayed his trademark versatility, playing as a point forward down the stretch – and thriving. He finished with 18 points, six rebounds and six assists.

David Mirkovic playing PG late and delivering 👀

No. 5 @IlliniMBB takes the late lead at No. 10 Michigan State.

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/a5ybEjbFTw
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 8, 2026

Wing Andrej Stojakovic went for 17 points on a stellar 8-for-14 effort from the field, slicing downhill and scoring at the rack (or in the midrange) against an exceptional interior defense. Big man Tomislav Ivisic added 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting, taking the Spartans bigs into the post and showing off his physicality and finesse, as he tossed them around before sending in a couple of sweet baby hooks.

Stojakovic has such a smooth stroke 🔥

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/qnlwLnmnMA
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 8, 2026

Most importantly, Illinois got great looks – wide-open three after wide-open three for one of the best long-range-shooting units in the country. If the shots don’t fall, they don’t fall. Control the controllables (as Illini head man Brad Underwood would preach).

Illinois – even with Wagler in the midst of, hands down, his worst performance of the season, even without its second-leading scorer (Boswell) in the lineup, even with the rest of the squad struggling to hit the broad side of a barn (10-for-36 from three as a team) – managed to put up 82 points on one of the best defenses in the country.

Grab a defensive rebound late in the first half so that Michigan State’s Kur Teng doesn’t get another look from deep, and Illinois very likely walks out of the Breslin Center with its 13th straight win – in spite of practically everything having gone wrong.

Forget moral victories. Illinois lost, and it gets chalked up in the Big Ten standings. No getting past that. Still, given all that didn't go their way, there couldn’t have been a much more encouraging loss for the Illini than this one.

Illinois is a national-championship-caliber team. Saturday night didn't change that. If anything, it only strengthened the argument.