Illinois Comes From Behind to Beat No. 18 Purdue

Illinois came from behind to beat No. 18 Purdue 88-80 on Friday night, rallying past the Boilermakers in the final two minutes after trailing 63-53 with 11:34 to go. Kasparas Jakucionis hit a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left to put Illinois ahead for good.

Will Riley led five Illinois players in double figures with 22 points, while Tre White had 20 points and nine rebounds. Jakucionis added 10 points and seven assists. Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 29 points for Purdue, and Braden Smith had 18 points, 12 assists, and nine rebounds.

Smith is among the favorites for Big Ten Player of the Year.

The Illini joined Gonzaga, Houston, and San Diego State as the only teams in the country to have at least 20 regular-season wins in each of the last six years. Illinois outscored Purdue 13-1 in the final two minutes to win its third game in a row after losing three straight.

Kaufman-Renn, the team’s leading scorer, also deserves consideration because he’s the Boilermakers’ only inside threat.

Riley made a 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer to end a personal seven-point run and get Illinois within 42-40. The teams combined for 32 3-pointers in their previous game, but Purdue went inside against Illinois this time, outscoring the Illini 44-28 in the paint while going 5 of 18 from behind the arc.

Both teams begin Big Ten Tournament play on Thursday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.