Illinois basketball is battling for an at-large NCAA Tournament spot. Keaton Wagler likely just inspired the Illini. He fought through back soreness to spearhead the 78-72 win on Sunday over Maryland.
His head coach Brad Underwood confirmed with reporters that Wagler “got a little stiffness in his back, and he said it was tight.”
Yet Wagler fought through the back ailment to drop 11 points and grab three rebounds. His presence became enough to earn Illinois its 24th win of the season.
Now comes the Big Ten Tournament in two days, including wondering if Wagler will be healthy by then.
Where Illinois stands in NCAA Tournament race
Illinois sits comfortably at 24-7 overall now and ranking just outside of the top 10.
Team Rankings hands them an 82.1% chance of landing as an at-large. But can they sneak into the tournament as a No. 1 seed?
Illinois at the highest can earn a No. 2 spot if it wins the upcoming tournament in Chicago. The Illini face a high probability of landing a third seed in one of the regionals.
CBS Sports bracketology, however, has Illinois earning a two seed in the east regional. They'd tangle with Central Arkansas in this scenario. But Illinois heads to a loaded bracket featuring the following: St. John's, North Carolina, Alabama, Texas Tech, Saint Mary's and No. 1 Duke in this projection.
Wagler delivered some epic plays to get Illinois at this point. He's even drawn Tracy McGrady comparisons before the injury.
Underwood needs more than a healthy Wagler, though. He's hoping Tomislav Ivisic can break out of his scoring slump.
