Illinois basketball had a huge win over the weekend, and now the Illini are cracking the top 10 in the AP Top 25.

The Illini tested very well in West Lafayette, and we can think of at least one performance for which even an A-plus may not be enough

The Boilermakers had a winless week, dropping at home as a freshman had the best individual performance by a visitor in Mackey Arena history. Here's what we learned:

Purdue and Illinois are near the top of the Big Ten college basketball standings: Illini freshman Keaton Wadler leads a win.

Kansas native Keaton Wagler never got an offer from KU out of high school. He’s since become a star at Illinois and a likely lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Freshman Keaton Wagler scored 46 points to lead the No. 11 Fighting Illini to an 88-82 victory against No. 4 Purdue at Mackey Arena on Saturday.

The Chicago Bulls really do play the Miami Heat three times in four days this weekend. Thursday’s home matchup is the rescheduled date for the Jan. 8 game.

The Illini are coming off their biggest win of the season but will need to keep their eyes on the ball to handle the Huskies at home

Inside the scenes after Illinois basketball's stunning win at Purdue: hugs, water, history

Illinois made its return to the top 10 of the latest Coaches Poll after an eventful week of college basketball, as the Fighting Illini used a pair of strong wins to propel themselves to No. 10. It's the highest that Illinois has been ranked since Nov. 17, when it landed at eighth amid a 4-0 start to the 2025-26 season.