No. 16 Illinois builds big early lead, then holds off No. 19 Iowa, 75-69

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Illinois guard Keaton Wagler, left, drives past Iowa guard Isaia Howard during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Illinois guard Andrej Stojakovic (2) shoots over Iowa guard Isaia Howard, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) — Illinois guard Keaton Wagler, left, drives past Iowa guard Isaia Howard during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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11:34 AM on Sunday, January 11

By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Keaton Wagler scored 19 points, Andrej Stojakovic and Kylan Boswell each had 17 and No. 16 Illinois continued to win on the road in the Big Ten Conference, holding off No. 19 Iowa 75-69 on Sunday.

The Illini (13-3, 4-1) won their fifth consecutive game and stayed tied for third place in the conference. Three of Illinois’ wins in conference play have come on the road — the Illini also won at Ohio State and Penn State.

Illinois led 58-41 with 11:25 to play when the Hawkeyes (12-4, 2-3) began to rally. They got to within four points four times in the last two minutes of the game, including at 71-67 with 55 seconds left with a chance to cut the lead further, but Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz missed a layup.

Iowa made most of its run without Stirtz, its leading scorer this season at 18 points per game. Stirtz picked up his fourth foul with 11:36 to go and went to the bench for seven minutes. During that stretch the Hawkeyes outscored the Illini 18-10.

Tavion Banks led Iowa with 16 points. Tate Sage scored 13, Stirtz had 12 and Cooper Koch added 10.

Illinois controlled all of the first half. The Illini led 8-0 after the first three minutes, getting open shots while Iowa was struggling at the other end of the court. The Hawkeyes had four missed shots and a turnover on their opening five possessions.

Illinois’ biggest lead of the first half was 29-11 with 7:34 to play before Iowa started to cut into the margin. The Hawkeyes hit three consecutive 3-pointers late in the half but couldn’t get the deficit to within single digits at halftime, missing their last five shots.

Up next

Illinois: At Northwestern on Wednesday.

Iowa: At No. 5 Purdue on Wednesday.

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