CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — 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 OT 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.
Indiana visits No. 13 Purdue on Friday.
Illinois visits Southern California on Wednesday.
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Illinois' David Mirkovic catches a pass during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Indiana, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Craig Pessman)
MILAN (AP) — Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Canada are rolling into the knockout round at the Olympics as the best team in the tournament.
They may have put the top seed out of the Americans' reach.
Crosby and McDavid each had a goal and two assists in a clinical, businesslike 10-2 dismantling of France on Sunday. Canada finished round robin play unbeaten, outscoring opponents by 17 goals over three games.
“We did what we came to do," said McDavid, who leads all scorers in Milan. "We came to win a hockey game and continue to get better.”
The blowout also included Tom Wilson fighting the player who delivered a forearm to Nathan MacKinnon's face a couple of minutes earlier. MacKinnon returned and Wilson was ejected, since fighting is a game misconduct under international rules, but the already popular teammate earned even more respect inside Canada's locker room.
“He’s going to stick up for his guys,” forward Sam Bennett said. “He’s a leader on this team and he’s a guy that’s going to protect our guys and do whatever it takes for our team.”
The U.S. would need to beat Germany by 10 or more goals on Sunday night to overtake Canada for the No. 1 seed. A win of any kind short of that would put the U.S. second and on a crash course to face seventh-seeded Sweden in the quarterfinals, and an unexpected regulation loss would shake up the already surprising standings.
Sweden is quite the formidable opponent, though Canada showed in the preliminary round that it has the skill, size and finishing ability to skate any other team in Milan out of the building. McDavid has nine points in his first nine periods to lead all scorers at his first Olympics, and Crosby has been great at 38 in his third looking to go 3 for 3 in gold medals.
“Sid’s playing great,” McDavid said. “Everybody’s playing really, really well. The team’s playing well. We’re in a good place right now.”
Macklin Celebrini, Canada's youngest player at 19, scored on a penalty shot and on the power play against France to give him four goals in three games. Wilson, picked by coach Jon Cooper to ride shotgun on the top line on McDavid's right wing, also had a goal, an assist and some big hits.
Mark Stone scored short-handed with 3.4 seconds left in the first period and had two assists. Brandon Hagel had Canada's ninth goal in the third before Celebrini scored the 10th.
Canada outshot France 46-13, making life as easy as possible on goaltender Jordan Binnington, who might want the second goal back but should still be in net Wednesday in the quarterfinals against the winner of the 8/9 game between Czechia and Denmark.
Longtime NHL goaltender Frederik Andersen made 33 saves on 35 shots to give Denmark its first victory in Milan, 4-2 over Latvia.
Winning by two on an empty-netter also put Denmark ahead in the seeding, leaving Latvia to be 10th and face No. 7 Sweden in the qualification round Tuesday.
Rallying around the absence of injured winger Kevin Fiala, Switzerland beat Czechia 4-3 in overtime to give itself an easy path to the quarterfinals.
Winning the preliminary round finale means captain Roman Josi's team next faces winless host Italy in the qualification playoffs Tuesday.
“We knew it was a big game,” said Josi, the Nashville Predators defenseman who scored Switzerland's first goal by banking the puck off Radko Gudas' left skate and in. "Obviously a lot of up and downs in that third period but found a way. It was a huge win against a really good team.”
Former Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Dean Kukan scored the overtime winner. In 172 NHL regular-season and playoff games, he had just six goals and ranked this one top three in his career.
Timo Meier of the New Jersey Devils and Pius Suter of the St. Louis Blues also scored for Switzerland, and 38-year-old national team goaltender Leonardo Genoni stopped 29 of the 32 shots he faced.
Fiala, the Los Angeles Kings' second-leading scorer, had surgery to repair what the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation only called a lower left leg injury. He sent his teammates a video message from his hospital bed, and coach Patrick Fischer hopes Fiala is back at the athletes' village Monday.
“He’s still with us,” said Nico Hischer, who captains the Devils in the NHL. "We’ll play for him. And obviously you hate to see injury like that. He’s one of our best players, so it’s obviously a tough loss for us. But we know he’s still engaged with us, and he’ll cheer us on.”
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Czechia's Tomas Hertl (48) is challenged by Switzerland's Damien Riat (9) during a preliminary round match of men's ice hockey between Switzerland and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Switzerland players celebrate their victory after a preliminary round match of men's ice hockey between Switzerland and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Canada's Macklin Celebrini (17) scores on a penalty shot in the second period against France's goalkeeper Julian Junca (33) during a preliminary round game of men's ice hockey between Canada and France at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Canada's Macklin Celebrini (17) scores a goal on a penalty shot in the second period against France's goalkeeper Julian Junca (33) during a preliminary round game of men's ice hockey between Canada and France at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Canada's Mark Stone (61) celebrates after scoring a goal against France's goalkeeper Julian Junca (33) and France's Jules Boscq (27) in the first period during a preliminary round game of men's ice hockey between Canada and France at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
