Illinois defeated Maryland to finish the regular season 24-7 and earn a quarterfinal berth in the Big Ten Tournament at the United Center.
COLLEGE PARK, MD -Illinois closed the regular season Sunday with another step in what has become one of the most successful stretches in recent program history.
Photo: Courtney Bay/Illinois Athletics
Maryland's Collin Metcalf contests a shot by Illinois' David Mirkovic. Mirkovic led the Illini with 22 points and 11 rebounds in the conference road win on Sunday. He became the 10th Illinois freshman in program history to score over 400 points in their first season.
Behind a double-double from David Mirkovic and a strong second half from Keaton Wagler, Illinois defeated Maryland to finish the regular season 24-7 overall and 15-5 in the Big Ten. The victory secures the Illini a triple bye into Friday’s quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament at the United Center in Chicago.
Mentally, Brad Underwood says the team is prepared for what comes next.
"You have a 20-game gauntlet in this league. We had some tough losses. We are 15-5 and we'll see where that puts us," he said. "We did a lot of good things. We won a lot of big games."
The 24 regular-season wins are the program’s most in two decades, since the 2006 team finished the regular season with 25 victories. Illinois’ 15 conference wins also tie for the second-most in school history.
Underwood has now led the Illini to three of the program’s five seasons with at least 15 Big Ten wins, including a 15-5 league mark in 2022 and a 16-win season in 2021. Underwood owns the top three — and five of the top nine — winningest Big Ten seasons in Illinois history.
Despite a flat start, Underwood said he was proud of the way the team performed on the road.
"We started slow in terms of the enthusiasium," he recounted. "Our energy level was quite what it need to be. We just hung in there and kept delivering body blows."
Illinois also matched another program mark with its eighth conference road win of the season, tying the record set in the 2020-21 campaign. Over the past seven seasons, the Illini have compiled 42 Big Ten road victories, the most in the conference during that span.
Mirkovic powered the Illini on Sunday with 22 points and 11 rebounds while adding three assists and a steal. The freshman recorded his team-leading seventh double-double of the season and his second 20-point performance, following his 27-point, 21-rebound effort against Colgate on Nov. 14.
Mirkovic also continued a productive scoring stretch, reaching double figures for the 24th time this season and for the third straight game. His performance pushed him past 400 points on the year, making him the 10th freshman in Illinois history to reach that milestone. With 409 points, he now ranks 10th on the program’s freshman scoring list. Mirkovic led the Illini in scoring for the fourth time this season and paced the team in rebounds for the 14th time.
"We won the battle in the paint 42-20," Underwood said. "We figured that coming in. It was the game plan."
Wagler added 11 points, all in the second half, along with three rebounds, three assists, one block and a career-high three steals. The freshman guard recorded his team-leading 28th double-digit scoring performance and extended his streak to 23 consecutive games with at least 10 points.
Wagler closed the regular season with 554 total points, extending his Illinois freshman scoring record. His season average of 17.9 points per game sits two points above the previous freshman record of 15.9 set by Kiwane Garris during the 1993-94 season. Wagler also finished the regular season with 155 made free throws, the most by a freshman in program history.
Kylan Boswell contributed 11 points and tied for the team lead with three assists. It marked his 40th career double-figure scoring game at Illinois, the most among active players, and his 16th of the season.
TAGS: Illinois vs Maryland basketball recap, Illinois Fighting Illini Big Ten Tournament preview, David Mirkovic Illinois double-double Maryland, Illinois basketball regular season record 2026, Brad Underwood Illinois Big Ten wins history
