Wagler earns sixth Big Ten freshman of the week honor

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His six weekly honors are the second-most in program history behind Kofi Cockburn, who earned seven during the 2019-20 season. Photo: Contributed/www.fightingillini.com

CHAMPAIGN, IL (Chambana Today) — Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball guard Keaton Wagler has been named Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week for the sixth time this season, the league office announced Monday.

Wagler averaged 26 points, five assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in two games from Feb. 9–15 while shooting 50% from the field and 43% from three-point range.

The Shawnee, Kansas native scored a game-high 34 points with seven assists against Wisconsin, marking the third-highest scoring performance ever by an Illini freshman. Earlier this season, he set a Big Ten freshman high with 46 points at Purdue. Wagler followed up with 18 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in a win over Indiana.

His six weekly honors are the second-most in program history behind Kofi Cockburn, who earned seven during the 2019-20 season.

No. 10 Illinois travels to Los Angeles this week for a two-game road trip, facing USC on Wednesday and UCLA on Saturday.

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