CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Keaton Wagler scored 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds and Tomislav Ivisic had 14 points to lead No. 16 Illinois to an 81-55 victory over Rutgers on Thursday night.
Andrej Stojakovic had 12 points and eight rebounds, Jake Davis scored a dozen points and David Mirkovich grabbed eight rebounds for the Illini (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten), who won their fourth straight.
Illinois was 18 of 21 at the free-throw line. The Illini lead the Big Ten and are No. 3 in the country in free-throw percentage.
Kaden Powers scored 12 points and Harun Zrno had 11 points for Rutgers (8-8, 1-4).
Illinois went on a 20-0 run in the final 7 1/2 minutes of the first half and led 43-16 at halftime. Davis scored all 12 of his points on four 3-pointers in the first half, just four fewer points than the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers shot 21% from the floor in the opening half (6 of 28) including 2 of 13 on 3s and was 2 of 6 on free throws.
Tariq Francis, Rutgers' leading scorer, had an off night. He scored six points on 3 of 10 shooting while playing just 17 minutes after averaging 25 points in the Scarlet Knights' previous four games.
Francis has had two 30-point games this season. He's the only Big Ten player in the last 10 seasons with multiple 30-point games off the bench in the same season.
Illinois improved to 9-0 at home vs. Rutgers, 8-0 in Big Ten games since the Scarlet Knights joined the conference in 2015. The Illini are 14-5 overall against Rutgers, although the teams split their previous eight games.
Rutgers: Home vs. Northwestern on Sunday.
Illinois: Plays Sunday at No. 19 Iowa.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
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