UW Huskies fall to No. 9 Illinois 75-66 amid tough stretch

The UW Huskies lost to No. 9 Illinois 75-66, capping a challenging stretch of five matchups against top-12 opponents in their past seven games.

BY STEVE STEIN

Jan 29, 2026, 9:35 PM

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UW Huskies Illinois David Mirkovic 2026...

Illinois forwawrd David Mirkovic drives to the basket against the UW Huskies on Thursday night. (AP Photo/Craig Pessman)

(AP Photo/Craig Pessman)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Keaton Wagler had 22 points and eight assists and No. 9 Illinois extended its winning streak to 10 games with a 75-66 victory over Washington on Thursday night.

No. 9 Illinois 75, UW Huskies 66: Box score

David Mirkovic added 19 points and six rebounds and Ben Humrichous had 14 points for the Illini (18-3, 9-1 Big Ten), who have the longest active win streak in the conference.

The Illini’s 10-game winning streak is the longest in Brad Underwood’s nine years as coach, and the longest for Illinois since it won 10 in a row to open the 2012-13 season.

Wagler has scored in double figures in 13 straight games and in 18 games overall this season.

Freshman Hannes Steinbach had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Washington (11-10, 3-7), which has lost six of eight.

Wesley Yates III had 13 points and Zoom Diallo had 12 points and 10 assists for the Huskies, who scored the game’s first seven points. The Illini responded with a 10-0 run that put them ahead for good.

Illinois was in front 33-26 at halftime. Washington has led at the half in a Big Ten game only once this season.

The Illini were 11 of 33 from 3-point distance. It was Illinois’ seventh straight game with an least 10 baskets from distance. Humrichous was 4 of 6 from beyond the arc.

Illinois came into the game ranked second nationally in free throw percentage (79.4%) and went 10 for 16 for 62.5% after going 4 of 9 at the line in the first half.

No. 5 Nebraska was the last team to beat Illinois and the only team to beat the Illini this season at the State Farm Center. The Huskers won 83-80 on Dec. 13.