There must’ve been orange in the NBA waters the first week of February, when rookie guards Kasparas Jakucionis of the Heat and Will Riley of the Wizards — the Nos. 20 and 21 picks, respectively, in last year’s draft and the first Illinois one-and-dones ever — each went off. Jakucionis, whose minutes have been increasing lately, had back-to-back six-three-pointer games. Riley averaged 20.5 points over four straight games.
Both of them — such talent — were in the house, seated together, Sunday as the Illini manhandled Indiana 71-51 at State Farm Center.
Also kicking around Champaign for most of the last week was Terrance Shannon Jr., the ex-Illini All-American who has alternated between the Timberwolves and their G League squad since going 27th in the 2024 draft. Shannon practiced on the scout team with these Illini, mimicking Indiana guard Lamar Wilkerson, the Big Ten’s leading scorer in conference games.
Nice, isn’t it, for all three to travel to campus during the NBA’s All-Star break?
And though perhaps they’d argue with this assessment, here’s what they saw: an Illini freshman duo that’s even better than Jakucionis and Riley were, and an Illini team — now 21-5 and in second place in the conference at 12-3 — with an even higher ceiling than the group Shannon carried to the Elite Eight.
Smooth, lanky 6-6 point guard Keaton Wagler scored 18 points against the Hoosiers (17-9), easy work for a player averaging 21.5 — with 5.1 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 46% three-point shooting — in conference games. It’s no fluke Wagler is soaring toward the tops of mock drafts, widely projected as a top-10 kind of guy. And who doesn’t like a top-10 kind of guy?
Wagler had an unforgettable 46-point eruption in a win at Purdue, 28 in a major win at Nebraska, 34 last week in an overtime loss to Wisconsin. This time last year, point guard Jakucionis was hitting the freshman wall — he never would get himself un-hit after that — and the Illini started a fade-out that included three straight late-February losses, a blowout loss to Maryland in the Big Ten tournament, and an NCAA second-round bow-out against Kentucky in which Jakucionis and Riley combined for more turnovers (nine) than buckets (six). Wagler still looks fresh as a daisy, and the return of senior guard Kylan Boswell from a hand injury will only lighten Wagler’s load.
But even with all the emphasis on Wagler, Sunday was freshman forward David Mrkovic’s time to shine brightest. The 6-9 Montenegrin — so burly, it’s as if Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland asked for a third, much taller buddy — dominated the game, scoring 25 and rebounding, dishing and splashing threes like the former European pro he is.
“He knows no one can guard him,” Boswell said. “He’s one of the best bigs in the country.”
Between them, Wagler and Mrkovic had zero turnovers, remarkable as much as each handles the ball. Wagler made like a fifth-year senior soon to be needing a real job when he dove into the Illini bench for a loose ball with a 16-point lead in the second half, a terrific look. Doesn’t he know he’s a lottery-bound freshman in the most me-first period in the history of college sports?
But this Illini team also has explosive scorer Andrej Stojakovic coming back soon from an ankle injury, and Boswell back already. It has the 7-foot Ivisic twins, Tomislav the offensive standout and Zvonimir the shot eraser. It has the most efficient offense in the land, according to the metrics.
CBS and analyst Clark Kellogg were in the building, conjuring thoughts of next month’s Big Dance. The Illini still have a 2 seed within reach — they came in at No. 5 in the country in the NET rankings, relied on heavily by the selection committee — but they’ll have to close hot.
This wasn’t the first time Illinois beat Indiana on Feb. 15 to get to 21-5. It also happened in 2009; this is the Illini’s best start since then. That team ended up losing five of its last eight games, culminating in a first-round upset against Western Kentucky in the Big Dance.
There are no guarantees, as Illini fans understand well. Maybe too well.
But right now, there’s reason for a great deal of hope.