Illinois basketball was playing an inferior opponent on Thursday night when Rutgers showed up to the game.
It was not a fair fight. The Illini dominated this contest from the first seconds until the final whistle. Illinois had won three in a row coming into the game, which included a fight with Penn State on the road, and this win over Rutgers put any worries to rest.
Illinois had a double-digit lead 12 minutes into the game. That turned into a 27-point halftime lead. Rutgers would win the second half by one point, but that didn’t matter much. The Illini still came away with the 81-55 win over the Scarlet Knights.
Here are five big observations from the Illinois basketball thrashing over Rutgers
1. The rise of Jake Davis has been fun to watch
I was really hoping that Jake Davis would emerge for Illinois last season, so he could help us score points off the bench. He would have been great for that team that lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
For some reason, something didn’t click with Davis in 2024-25. This season has been different, though. The flow of the game and the leaders who are getting others involved each time down the court have helped Davis start blossoming into the player we all thought he could be when he showed up in Champaign.
Davis had another big game on Thursday night. He finished with 12 points, three rebounds, and one steal on 4-of-7 shooting from the field, and they were all three-point attempts.
This is the second game in a row Davis has hit double-digit points, and he has now shot 10-of-18, 55.6%, from three-point range in the past three games.
In addition to his recent hot streak, his year-over-year improvement is evident. Davis went from shooting 34.4% from three-point range last season to now hitting at 41.7%. Free throw shooting went from 50% to 66.7%.
Davis is gelling with this rendition of the Illini more than last season. His talent is rising, and Brad Underwood’s trust in him is rising, too. It is fun to watch everything come together for this kid.
2. I’m surprised by the lack of Illinois bench play
From the opening tip, you could tell this was going to be an ugly game. Illinois dominated throughout, taking a double-digit lead with eight minutes to go in the first half, and the contest never got any closer.
Illinois had a 27-point halftime lead against Rutgers. That is unheard of against another Big Ten team. So, one would think the Illini bench would get a ton of playing time, and the starters would get some rest.
That didn’t happen, though. Each Illinois starter logged at least 25 minutes, with both Keaton Wagler and Kylan Boswell getting over 30 minutes of action. That shocked me greatly.
This was a chance for Underwood to get some valuable minutes for some of the players who have a chance to play late in March.
I am mainly talking about Mihailo Petrovic. Even Boswell thought he would be teaming up with Petrovic in the Illinois starting backcourt to begin the 2025-26 season. Injuries hampered his start to the season, and now Wagler has the starting job, and Petrovic can’t even see garbage time. He logged just three minutes in the game.
Yes, I know that Petrovic has not been good. The one shot attempt he had was a blown layup. But he needs to get more game action. We need to see more out of him to see if he is a potential option down the stretch. There is always a chance for injury, so depth could be important.
I also wanted to see a little more of Brandon Lee. The freshman did get to the free throw line, but it would be nice for him to get a little more involved in the lineup. Lee could have received some valuable time on the court to get the pace of the college game down a bit more.
3. Illinois basketball tone was set by Kylan Boswell
As I mentioned in an earlier section of this article, Illinois was dominant from the opening tip. Rutgers was no match for the Orange and Blue, and this had a lot to do with Boswell setting the tone.
The first three points of the game were from Rutgers. They would have easily gotten hot and made this a tough night for the Illini. Boswell didn’t let that happen.
Boswell made the first bucket of the game, which followed that three-point make by the Scarlet Knights. He had a couple of big rebounds early in the game, and he was moving the ball around.
There are two different Boswells that Illinois can get. There is the unengaged one, when Boswell just wanders around and isn’t fully into the game. Usually, he is just a warm body out there on the court as the game is going on.
Then there is the engaged Boswell. He is moving the ball around and getting downhill. That is the Boswell that Illinois got against Rutgers.
Boswell didn’t need to have a big scoring night. He only put up nine points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field, but the fact that he added five rebounds and five assists was huge. He was also aggressive defensively. Boswell set the tone early and often, and it helped propel Illinois to such a big win.
4. Keaton Wagler plays effortless basketball
When you read this headline, you might think this is a negative. Effortless could have a negative connotation, but that is not the case with his section of the article.
The word effortless in this matter means Wagler makes the game look easy. He makes the great plays and great success on the court look like he isn’t putting any effort into it, and he is automatically great.
That is an impressive skill to have. It is something all of the great players who come through the game of basketball possess.
Wagler finished the Rutgers game with another yawning 17 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. He shot 5-of-12 from the field and 1-of-4 from the three-point arc, but while his shooting wasn’t on, Wagler has the basketball IQ to know he can get to the free throw line and drain 6-of-7.
One of two things is going to happen this offseason. Wagler is either going to go to the NBA, or he is going to get paid by Illinois. Either way, he has earned whatever is coming his way.
5. Illinois is clearly in another class
Usually, in the Big Ten, games are close. Even the bottom of the conference can compete with teams that are toward the top.
In the past, these random low-level Big Ten squads have given Illinois a tough time. That wasn’t the case on Thursday night, though. Illinois was clearly in a different class than Rutgers.
The Scarlet Knights are a team that has no direction. It is not like they have a budding freshman or two who are possibly going to get hot and knock you off. Penn State is 0-4, and Rutgers is 1-4 in the Big Ten and has nearly the same overall record, but the Nittany Lions at least have a leader and some good talent.
That can’t be said about Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights might be the worst team in the Big Ten. If it wasn’t for their overtime win over Oregon, they would be the worst team in the conference.
It is rare to say there is this big a divide among Big Ten squads. The top of the Big Ten is the best it has ever been. It is a gauntlet and will add so much value to the schedule when it comes to the NCAA tournament.
But when you get to the bottom of the Big Ten, you are looking at essentially bye games. The divide between the haves and the have-nots is stark. Illinois gets three of those bottom feeders in the next six games, too. That should help bolster the win column.