Illinois Vs Ucla: illinois vs ucla ends 95-94 as Donovan Dent hits OT buzzer-beater
illinois vs ucla produced a dramatic finish on February 21, 2026, at Pauley Pavilion, where No. 10 Illinois surrendered a 23-point first-half advantage and fell 95-94 on a buzzer-beating layup in overtime. The result capped a back-and-forth night that featured a freshman scoring record and a string of razor-thin conference defeats for the Illini.
Game flow: 23-point lead, comeback and overtime
Illinois built a lead as large as 23 points in the first half, pushing a 13-10 advantage to 33-10 during a 20-0 run. UCLA chipped away and closed the half on an 8-2 run to cut the Illini lead to 50-43 at the break. Out of the break the Illini again reached double figures before a 13-2 UCLA run tied the game 56-56 with 14: 45 left in regulation. The remainder of the second half included nine more ties, and Keaton Wagler's free throws with 19 seconds left sent the contest to overtime.
Keaton Wagler's record night and critical plays
Keaton Wagler scored 19 points, with 16 of those coming in the second half and overtime. He entered the game with 490 points and surpassed the freshman season mark of 494 with a layup at the 16: 38 mark of the second half; that 494 total had been set by Corey Bradford in 1998-99 and tied last year by Kasparas Jakucionis. Wagler also posted a game-high eight rebounds (six offensive) and led the team with six assists. His offensive rebound and putback with just under five seconds left in overtime gave Illinois a 94-93 lead before the final sequence.
Illinois Vs Ucla: final sequence and Donovan Dent's winning layup
On the play after Wagler's putback, UCLA inbounded to Donovan Dent, who raced up the floor and wove through the Illini defense in 4. 9 seconds to convert a game-winning layup as time expired. The play decided the 95-94 overtime result at Pauley Pavilion and denied Illinois the lead it had reclaimed moments earlier.
Supporting scorers and shooting burst
Five Illini scored in double figures. Tomislav Ivisic had 16 points and six rebounds. Ben Humrichous added 15 points and made a career-best five 3-pointers; four of those threes came during the 20-0 run that turned a 13-10 margin into a 33-10 lead. Kylan Boswell contributed 13 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Zvonimir Ivisic finished with 11 points.
Standings, streaks and what comes next for Illinois
Illinois is 22-6 overall and 13-4 in Big Ten play. The loss extended a troubling pattern: the Illini have now lost in overtime in each of the team's last three losses to Big Ten foes over the last two weeks, and the Orange and Blue's four Big Ten defeats have come by a combined nine points. Next up, Illinois returns home to a sold-out State Farm Center on Friday to host No. 1 Michigan, a team listed at 25-2 overall and 15-1 in conference play, with tipoff set for 7 p. m. CT.
