COLUMBUS, Ohio – #13 Illinois opened Big Ten play with a hard-fought 88-80 road victory over Ohio State on Tuesday night.

Keaton Wagler finished with a career-high 23 points, making three 3-pointers while going 8-for-9 from the free throw line. He also dished out five assists, while both of his rebounds came on the offensive glass.

David Mirkovic finished with 22 points while knocking down a career-high four 3-pointers. He corralled nine rebounds while converting all eight of his free throw attempts.

Andrej Stojakovic secured 17 points, four rebounds, and an assist, while Zvonimir Ivisic totaled 13 points, eight rebounds, and a block off the bench.

The Illini went 29-for-32 at the free throw line as a team while recording 11 3-pointers.

After a slow start offensively, the Illini used a stretch of four made field goals across five attempts to establish an early five-point edge. That advantage grew to nine just over three minutes later following back-to-back triples from Zvonimir Ivisic and Mirkovic, who reached double figures within the first eight minutes of play.

The Buckeyes briefly went in front with five minutes remaining in the frame, but an 11-0 Illini run saw the visitors grab a double-digit lead for the first time with two minutes to go in the period.

Up by as many as 10 in the first half, the Orange and Blue eventually went into halftime with a 48-42 advantage. Three Illini scorers posted 10+ points across the opening 20 minutes, led by a team-high 14 points from Wagler, while Illinois shot 53.6% from the field before the break.

With the game tied at 53 early in the second half, the Illini pieced together an 8-2 scoring stretch go ahead once again. The home side ended a scoreless drought of over three minutes before the Orange and Blue claimed the game's next five points to take a 66-58 advantage halfway through the final frame.

Both sides went to the free throw line several times over the next five minutes, though the Illini maintained their advantage by going 7-for-8 from the charity stripe during that time.

A Wagler 3-pointer, his third of the night, ended a three-minute stretch without an Illinois field goal, lengthening the away side's lead to eight with just under three minutes remaining. After Ohio State trimmed its deficit to three with 1:19 to play, Tomislav Ivisic knocked down a 3-pointer, his first points of the second half, which saw the Illini advantage grow to 82-76 with 46 seconds left on the clock.

The Illini eventually closed out the victory from the free throw line to improve to 1-0 in conference play and 8-2 overall.

#13 Illinois returns to State Farm Center on Saturday afternoon to host its Big Ten home opener against #23 Nebraska. The opening tip for the top-25 clash between the Fighting Illini and the Cornhuskers is slated for 3 p.m. CT on Peacock.

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