Kylan Boswell Returns as No. 8 Illinois Beats Indiana, 71-51

David Mirkovic had 25 points and seven rebounds and No. 8 Illinois rebounded from back-to-back overtime losses with a 71-51 victory over Indiana on Sunday. Kylan Boswell, the Illini’s second-leading scorer and top defensive player, returned and played nearly 33 minutes after missing seven games with a broken right hand, his dominant hand, which was heavily taped and padded. Boswell had nine points and seven rebounds and committed one of Illinois’ two turnovers. Keaton Wagler scored 18 points and Tomislav Ivisic had 14, including 12 in the second half, for Illinois (21-5, 12-3 Big Ten), which was coming off overtime losses to Wisconsin and No. 10 Michigan State. Ben Humrichous went 0 for 7 from the field but led the Illini with eight rebounds. Lamar Wilkerson had 21 points for Indiana (17-9, 8-7), 14 in the first half. He has scored at least 20 points in 10 Big Ten games this season. Tucker DeVries scored 13 and Sam Alexis had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Hoosiers, who were outscored 33-20 in the second half after trailing 38-31 at halftime. Illinois pulled down 15 offensive rebounds, which led to 17 second-chance points, and outrebounded Indiana 38-25. Indiana came into the game with five wins in six tries after a four-game losing streak. Former Illini players and NBA rookies Kasparas Jakucionis (Miami Heat) and Will Riley (Washington Wizards) were at the State Farm Center to watch the game during the All-Star break. The two are Illinois’ first one-and-done players. Next, Indiana visits No. 13 Purdue on Friday, and Illinois visits USC on Wednesday. Reporting by The Associated Press.