The Illinois Fighting Illini saw their two-game win streak snapped on Saturday following a 95-94 loss to UCLA after a Donovan Dent game-winner at the buzzer in overtime. But one of the more pressing issues following the game was the status of Illinois freshman guard Keaton Wagler who left the game momentarily due to an injury.
After the loss to UCLA, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood gave a brief update as to the injury status of Keaton Wagler, as per Rees Woodcock of Writing Illini.
“I don’t know much about Keaton other than he said he is going to have a sore shoulder,” Underwood said. “[Kylan] Boswell got stitched up.”
Wagler’s injury occurred during the first half, and he was forced to exit the game briefly. He would ultimately return the game before the first half concluded. The star freshman finished with a team-high 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists, one steal and two blocked shots in 39 minutes of play. He didn’t shoot particularly well though, going only 5-of-15 from the field and 1-of-6 from 3-point range. He was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, however.
During his first season of college basketball, Wagler has managed to raise his draft stock to the point where he is now a potential lottery pick. While the trio of Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer appear to be the consensus top-three, Wagler has appeared on some mock drafts as high as No. 4.
Wagler has played in all 28 games for Illinois so far, at a little over 33 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 18.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists with splits of 45.6 percent shooting from the field, 42 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 81.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
With the loss, Illinois dropped to 22-6 overall, and 13-4 in the Big Ten standings. They are now two and a half games behind conference-leading Michigan.
