Teams of the Week: Illini Indulgence

For weeks, the quality of basketball in Champaign has been reaching heights that show promise of a National Champion contender.

Then the news broke. Leader and veteran Kylan Boswell would miss significant time, at least a month, with a significant injury. Boswell had mastered the Illinois offense with his bully-ball shot creation, Pick-N-Roll pace, and shot-making prowess.

A well-timed tune-up game with Maryland before heading to Purdue helped HC Brad Underwood and staff make some personnel tweaks.

Now, the altered Illini are predominantly gigantic. Here is a look at the minute distribution in Saturday's resume-boosting win at Purdue.

The results were quite remarkable in West Lafayette.

TKR? - two total rebounds
Oscar Cluff? - four total rebounds
Team totals? Illini 33, Purdue 19 rebounds (three total O-Rebs)

The Illini did not get Purdue to miss as often as desired but when the Boilers did miss, there were rarely any second chances.

So that covers one end of the story, the other end is much more substantial. An astonishing nine triple, 46-point performance for Freshman Keaton Wagler. Illinois would take over the game in the closing stretches for an 88-82 road win.

Our very own Eric Fawcett and Kevin Sweeney were on this instantly, in case you missed the 35-minute must-watch film session of Wagler's performance.

“We always talk about ethical basketball, the new era of ethical basketball,” Illinois AC Tyler Underwood said on gameday. “He’s like the leading candidate. All he (Wagler) cares about is playing the right way, making the right play. He’s got an unbelievable ability to just live in the present moment.” 

Illinois is now in a position to become a 1-seed long-term, which matches its recent performances. If you ask the squad, they are not concerned about that. This is about instilling confidence on the offensive end and enforcing enough dominant glass possessions on the defensive ends. The sky is clearly the limit in Champaign.

AUBURN

Tigers are riding high after an outstanding performance at the O-Dome. A rowdy environment fueled Auburn to a 19-2 electric start. The Tigers flustered the backcourt of the Gators often. Despite Florida's efforts to play a much cleaner game, the Gators could not find consistent outside shooting, and Auburn left Gainesville with a resume win that may, in fact, carry Steven Pearl and the Tigers all the way to the Big Dance in season one.

Some of the confidence possessed by the Tigers in Gainesville, may have stemmed from the great 2nd Half played earlier last week in Oxford. Auburn led Ole Miss by one at halftime before really getting rolling in the second half. KeShawn Murphy was a man amongst boys with his 14 rebound effort, and he added 16 points in a superb performance.

NORTH CAROLINA A&T

Filed under "Nobody saw this coming." – I present to you the Aggies of NC A&T. After visiting "Club Corbett"- the affectionately named home arena for the Aggies known for its spectacular band and dancing environment – I knew this place may be a bit distracting for road opponents. Did I think the Aggies could outlast a pair of CAA contenders in the same week this season, however? Definitely not.

Club Corbett brought it last week. It began Thursday night vs. Hofstra. A game where Cruz Davis still got his typical 30 points. A freshman in Lewis Walker became the story in the end. Walker had 24 points, committed no turnovers, and played in all 40 minutes. Completely unheard of typically for a young freshman. Walker was not done there, as he ballooned for 33 points in the second big upset of the week over Towson. NC A&T went from 0-6 to 2-6 in a very inspiring/surprising week.

TENNESSEE

Like the rest of us, these Vols were hearing about Charles Bediako's returning to Alabama due to a T.R.O. fiasco all week in anticipation to its trip to Tuscaloosa over the weekend. These Tennessee vets were doing the right thing by locking into their own performance and freshman Nate Ament was still looking for his big splash game, like so many of his freshmen peers have already had. The Vols also had the benefit of a mid-week bye to help get locked in on Alabama, while the Tide were busy fielding endless questions regarding Mr. Bediako.

As you can tell by the above graphic, Mr. Ament sure did deliver in a big way. The usual catalyst for the Vols, Ja'Kobi Gillespie went for 24 points in the contest and had a pair of key steals. Tennessee was in an early hole in this one, but used the momentum gained going into halftime to springboard a 14-2 run in total to seize control. With this win in hand, Tennessee moved back up the seed list to a safe 6-seed for now. Holding Bama to 23% shooting from downtown should build some confidence for Rick Barnes' defense which is still finding itself.

DRAKE

Murray State has been all of the talk lately. So much so, that I am getting ready to board a plane to see the Racers host Illinois State on Wednesday! This Drake team did not care at all. Jalen Quinn and Owen Larson are forming quite a formidable tandem. Quinn dropped 34 on the Racers as MSU big man Fred King dealt with foul trouble. Drake put up 1.23 points per possession, perhaps a deeper concern for the Racer defense.

Drake got its perfect week secured by earning its second consecutive win on Saturday, Jan. 24, defeating Indiana State, 76-62, inside the Hulman Center. The Bulldogs were out to a fast start and grabbed an early 12-4 advantage at ISUblue with Owen Larson continuing his stellar play after tying a career-high 22 points against Murray State. The star sophomore connected on his first three shots of the game, which included a pair of 3-pointers to spark the Drake offense.

Drake HC Eric Henderson – “We’re making strides. This team has grown a lot. I’m just really proud of them and to be able to continue to bounce back. Today, we got off to such a great start and had a little bit of lag at the end of the half. We were really struggling scoring the basketball. It was kind of a clunky game there for a little while, but it got a little more fluid in the second half, and we put the pedal to the floor.”

STRONGLY CONSIDERED FOR AWARDS

N.C. STATE - The Wolfpack were in dire straits after a home loss to Georgia Tech and really had to make a statement in a brutal road test against defensive-minded Clemson. A school that is also where Will Wade attended and got his start in coaching. Let's be honest, Darrion Williams had been in a massive funk. I am not sure that has been resolved, but some of the load was relieved by Wade's favorite player to brag about, Ven-Allen Lubin. The former Fighting Irish and Commodore big man, had arguably his best performance as an NC State player with 22 points on 12 attempts, consistently finishing against one of the ACC's premier defenses on the road. The Wolfpack would persevere in OT. Later in the week, NC State finally got past a pesky Pitt effort to secure its place in the latest bracket forecast.

RHODE ISLAND - Jahmere Tripp said it best, "We've just continued to stay connected." In the face of a hot-seat scenario for HC Arch Miller, the URI Rams are banding together and playing much better. Last week may have been the most promising week of Miller's time in Kingston. A 74-65 win over a previously 18-1 GMU team sent loud signals across the A-10. Tripp's 23 points on 15 shot attempts and Tyler Cochran's 20 points with no turnovers were an inspiration. Well-traveled Keeyan Itejere had four blocks and is helping URI lead the A-10 in Block shot% rate, despite having an overall small team, per the "Average Height" metric. A lot of the confidence stemmed from a grinder road win at Richmond earlier in the week, 68-67. In that contest, Tripp came off the bench to score 10, then was a starter vs. GMU.

IU INDY - One of the eye-popping results anywhere in CBB came in Oakland with IU Indy essentially going wire-to-wire over the host and much more established Golden Grizzlies. Finley Woodward was all over the floor making productive plays and igniting the Jags' offense. That's been the key all year, as the staff transitions from West Liberty to D1 basketball, is getting this team to play efficient basketball within "the system" instead of just straight-up hell on wheels basketball. This win at Oakland shows that it can work against the top of the league and should provide needed confidence headed into the second half of conference play.

GEORGIA STATE - GSU has been through a slew of injury issues and beyond as they are fighting hard to turn the program in the right direction. I had the opportunity to spend a practice day with the staff and players during the preseason, and the competitive fire could not be stronger. The 2-9 record vs. D1 competition in non-conference play was tough to see take place, as I knew the Panthers were dealing with a rash of personnel issues. Lately, in league play, things are now really clicking in Atlanta. A pair of wins over Southern Miss and Arkansas State last week proved that this team can compete with the top of the Sun Belt. Suddenly, GSU is 6-3 and in 2nd Place in the conference. Amazing effort coming from hard work.

TEXAS TECH- The Red Raiders are feeling great about life following their showdown win (with College Gameday on hand) over Houston. TTU got a monster effort from JT Toppin– 31 points and 12 boards in a Jeff Linder (TT Asst. Coach) force-feed the post special. All of this was just enough to overcome the 42-point effort (My Goodness!) from UH Freshman, Kingston Flemings. Red Raiders now own a revenge win over the Cougars and have the earlier win over Duke to demonstrate they are very much a contender for the Final Four, as planned. They came in as a 3-seed in Bracketeer's latest forecast

HONORABLE MENTION: REMAINING CONFERENCE AWARDS

MOUNTAIN WEST: GRAND CANYON - Lopes got it done last Wednesday vs. San Diego State in a critical opportunity to host the Aztecs before their exit to the PAC-12. A late foul call marred the result, as SDSU's Tae Simmons was called for a call that appeared to be unwarranted during the closing moments and flipped the Aztecs' lead to a GCU lead and ultimate victory. Nevertheless, the Lopes are firmly in the race now in their inaugural season as MW members. Lopes also handled business in Fresno, beating the Bulldogs, 68-57, to get to 6-2 in league play.

HORIZON LEAGUE EXTRA: CLEVELAND STATE - CSU has really struggled under new HC Rob Summers. A win two Saturdays ago may have been a spark as the Vikings knocked off Youngstown State. Then, in its only game last week, the Vikings handed Horizon-leading Wright State an 85-79 defeat in the Nutter Center. It snapped the Raiders' seven-game winning streak in the process. Swiss sensation, Dayan Nassah, could not be stopped. He shot the ball well and made 13 of 15 foul shots in one of the league's largest upsets this year.

BIG SKY: PORTLAND STATE - PSU continued its historic start to Big Sky play, improving to 7-0 in conference action with a win over Idaho. The Vikings are now 13-5 overall and riding their longest winning streak since the 2007–08 season. Earlier in the week, the Vikings won at EWU. They've already notched four road wins in conference play. Something special is brewing in the Rose City.

CONFERENCE USA: MISSOURI STATE - The Bears made the UTEP/New Mexico State road swing look like a piece of cake. One of the big CUSA surprises this year, MO State, was in a tie late at NMSU. Then MSU went on a 10-2 run from that point in the game to the 4:01 mark, never looking back. Keith Palek and Michael Osei-Bonsu had major impacts once again in Las Cruces. The win on Saturday at UTEP was a rock fight-style W over the Miners, 62-57. Kobi Williams led the way that night with 21 points as the Miner D did a good job on Palek. MO State is a surprising 6-3 in its inaugural CUSA season.

MEAC: MORGAN STATE - The pesky Bears forced Howard to 31 percent overall, including 3-of-19 from deep shooting in a quality road MEAC win. Not much was expected from this team coming into league play, and they keep battling squads tooth and nail. Fourth-year Senior Rob Lawson had a memorable night with a career-best 24 points at Howard.

NEC: LE MOYNE - After a brutal start to 2025-26, the Dolphins have won three straight games. Shilo Jackson was near-perfect in the big win over league-leading LIU. Jackson missed two free throws of nine attempts, and drained all seven of his shot attempts to finish with 21 points. With CCSU fading lately, it's these surging Dolphins now seeking the 2-seed in the NEC Tournament. Reminder that Le Moyne is not eligible for the NCAA's until 2027. So this mission is centered around an NEC Championship solely.

WAC: CALIFORNIA BAPTIST - All of the national shine went to the three P5 freshmen to go for 40+ points on Saturday. But how about Dominique Daniels, Jr.? He outscored them all! Daniels made a driving layup against Utah Valley with three seconds left in regulation that made it 63-all and forced overtime. At that point, he had 39 of CBU's 63 points. He would add another eight points in OT, in another Daniels performance for the ages to finish with 47.

AMERICA EAST: NEW HAMPSHIRE - UNH erased any ill-will feelings by going 3-0 this past week. Getting the opportunity to play on MLK Day, the Wildcats ousted rival Maine. Thursday night, it was a Triple OT banger that resulted in an eventual victory and Nathan Davis's 300th career-win as a head coach. UNH was still hungry because they also took down Albany to wrap up a perfect week. Wildcats went from 0-3 in league to 3-3 and have begun to flip the script.

ASUN: NORTH FLORIDA - Ospreys were full of surprises in the past week, refusing to let EKU or Bellarmine leave campus with a win. Highly unexpected from UNF, who had just a 1-5 league record entering the week. Both wins were absolutely wild. An 87-85 win over EKU featured a game-winner from Kamrin Oriol, who ended with a career-high 32 points. The win over Bellarmine was a total regulation collapse, only to outscore the Knights in OT. And they made some history as well:

OVC: SEMO - Luke Almodovar had a clutch week with 22 points in a key win over the OVC-leading Skyhawks of UT Martin. Almodovar added a double-double in the other big win during the week over Little Rock. Not too shabby for the NAIA transfer from Saint Francis (IN). SEMO had a lot of goals to reach the top of the OVC. Last week proved they can win the league.

IVY LEAGUE: CORNELL - Down 16 on the road, the Big Red were getting outshot and outpaced by a confident Harvard Crimson group that appeared firmly in control. Then, a closing stretch defined by Adam Hinton’s big-time shots and toughest defensive plays, Cornell erased the deficit and shocked Harvard, 86-79. The win came after a 89-67 thumping at Brown. Two road wins in the same weekend for Cornell, who desperately needed both to climb into the Ivy Madness race, following a 0-3 beginning to league play.

MAC: AKRON - Double road wins in a week? We love that around here. The Zips made it look laughably easy in a 19-point and 21-point drubbing of Buffalo and Ohio U., respectively. Quite a statement. The Bulls and Bobcats made the mistake of letting Akron get out in transition, and it led to a breeze of a week. Amani Lyles had a double-double in both games, including a 15-rebound performance at Buffalo.

SOUTHLAND: STEPHEN F. AUSTIN - Keon Thompson put up 26 points in SFA’s 88-81 victory at Lamar on Saturday. Another day at the office for Mr. Thompson, who is tracking toward the Southland Player of the Year. Earlier in the week, SFA knocked off another road win at Nicholls behind 20 points from Thompson. The Jacks seem to get better every time they take the floor. A dangerous proposition for the rest of the Southland.

BIG EAST: BUTLER - Quality play late in games from specifically Finley Bizjack and Michael Ajayi helped fuel a perfect week at Butler. For the week, Bizjack had 24 and 28, respectively, in must-win home games over DePaul and Marquette. The Bulldogs are chopping wood on a bubble resume that has them just on the outside right now. Every game is under the microscope, and they passed both tests this past week.

SWAC: BETHUNE-COOKMAN - Wildcats made the adventurous trip from Daytona Beach, FL, to Pine Bluff, AR, to tussle with the dangerous Golden Lions of UAPB. The game was a battle. BCU was down by as many as 17 points in the second half before a 22-1 run upended a premature celebration in Pine Bluff. Jakobi Heady had 12 of his 25 points from the line to help close out the key SWAC road win. Over the weekend, BCU took down another SWAC threat in Jackson State. This was a domination and Doctor Bradley special (22/10).

BIG SOUTH: UNC ASHEVILLE - The Bulldogs went on the road and handled USC Upstate, 83-69. Mike Morrell's bunch shot the ball at a high clip, going well over 50% at each level of the floor. Sophomore Kameron Taylor has broken out this season. He dropped 27 in the road victory.

WCC: PACIFIC - Dave Smart's Tigers are an impressive 9-0 at Home on the season, following the 56-54 grinder over Seattle U. on Saturday. This team can rebound with anybody! A glance at KenPom data will show you who is now 6th in the nation in defensive rebound rate. Pacific is now 5-4 in the WCC and made the most noise in the conference this past week. Now, let's do a little better job of protecting the rock, Tigers.

SOCON: EAST TENNESSEE STATE - ETSU has managed to maintain the top of the SoCon leaderboard with gutsy defense and the willingness to grind out games. That statement could not be truer when reviewing the Mocs 67-66 road win at rival Chattanooga. The Bucs stayed tight on the Mocs' go-to guy, Jordan Frison, who ultimately dribbled out the clock without getting a shot off. ETSU returned home to obliterate The Citadel. Both opponents came in on win streaks before the Bucs cooled them off. At 7-1 in SoCon play, the Bucs are in control of the SoCon race.

BIG WEST: UC IRVINE - The Anteater defense held UC San Diego scoreless for the final 3:47 to win a satisfying key road contest against the same program that shattered their dreams a season ago. UCI is keeping pace with Hawai'i. Anteaters also won at UC Riverside earlier in the week.

THE AMERICAN: SOUTH FLORIDA - USF Bulls stepped up and matured this week in a road win at UAB and a critical home win over Florida Atlantic. Both victories were convincing, and the talented Bulls are part of a five-way logjam at the top of the conference. Bracketeer.Org will project the Bulls as American champions in Monday's forecast, thanks to key wins thus far over FAU and earlier Tulsa, the two biggest threats in the league currently.

MAAC: SIENA - HC Gerry McNamara would not admit if Marist was the Saints' season's best win. The NET Rankings say it was. With the Red Foxes are ranked No. 150 in D1, they are the best win available in the MAAC. Siena thumped Marist with a 69-50 win to improve to 7-3 in the league, right in the mix at the top. Saints were also able to take care of Fairfield earlier in the week, 85-77.

PATRIOT LEAGUE: AMERICAN U. - The Eagles have ripped off four straight wins in total. The win over Colgate last week sent a message to the rest of the Patriot League that the Eagles are in this race as a contender to stay. Freshman Madden Collins has been excellent; he had 20 in the win at Holy Cross over the weekend.

Cheers! Enjoy another action-packed D1 week, and stay warm!