Kylan Boswell, the Illini’s second-leading scorer and best defensive player, returned and played nearly 33 minutes after missing seven games with a fracture in his right hand, his dominant hand, which was heavily bandaged and padded.
Advertisement
Boswell had nine points and seven rebounds and committed one of Illinois’ two turnovers.
Keaton Wagler scored 18 points and Tomislav Ivisic scored 14, including 12 in the second half, for Illinois (21-5, 12-3 Big Ten), which was coming off overtime losses to Wisconsin and No. 10 Michigan State. Ben Humrichous was 7-for-1 from the field, but led the Illini with eight rebounds.
Lamar Wilkerson scored 21 points for Indiana (17-9, 8-7), 14 in the first half. He has scored at least 20 points in 10 Big Ten games this season.
Tucker DeVries scored 13 and Sam Alexis had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Hoosiers, who were outscored 33-20 in the second half after trailing 38-31 at halftime.
Advertisement
Illinois grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, leading to 17 second-chance points, and outrebounded Indiana 38-25.
Indiana came into the game with five wins in six tries after a four-game losing streak.
Former Illini players and NBA rookies Kasparas Jakucionis (Miami Heat) and Will Riley (Washington Wizards) were at the State Farm Center to watch the game during the All-Star break. The two are Illinois’ first one-and-done players.
Next
Indiana visits No. 13 Purdue on Friday.
Illinois visits Southern California on Wednesday.