Keaton Wagler's 23 points lead No. 13 Illinois to 88-80 victory over Ohio State in Big Ten opener

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Keaton Wagler scored 23 points and No. 13 Illinois opened its Big Ten schedule with an 88-80 victory over Ohio State on Tuesday night.

David Mirkovic had 22 points, including 11 in the first eight minutes, and eight rebounds. Andrej Stojakovic scored 17 for the Fighting Illini (8-2, 1-0 Big Ten). It was Illinois’ 35th road win in league play since 2019-20, most in the conference.

Bruce Thornton led the Buckeyes (7-2, 1-1) with 34 points, six rebounds and six assists. The senior guard had 24 points in the first half when he was 9 of 10 from the field and 6 of 7 on 3-pointers.

Ohio State trailed 79-72 with 2:01 remaining before scoring four straight points to get within one possession. Devin Royal’s driving layup pulled the Buckeyes to 79-76, but Tomislav Ivisic’s 3-pointer with 44.7 seconds left put it out of reach. The junior center’s shot from the left corner hit the rim before bouncing up and going through the net.

The Illini made their first 13 foul shots and finished 29 of 32, their second-most free throws in a game this season. Wagler, Mirkovic and Stojakovic combined to go 23 of 24 from the line.

Royal scored 15 points and Christoph Tilly had 13 points and eight rebounds. The Buckeyes were 11 of 16 from the line in the second half and 15 of 21 for the game.

OSU took a 34-33 lead before Illinois scored 11 straight points, including five by Ivisic. The Illini were up 48-42 at halftime.