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Illinois State Upsets Top-Seeded Wake Forest With Kinziger’s Late 3 to Reach NIT Quarterfinals

The Redbirds visit No. 2 Dayton next after erasing a late nine-point hole with a second-half 3-point surge.

Overview

  • Johnny Kinziger hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with two seconds left to seal Illinois State’s 78-75 second-round win in Winston-Salem.
  • Wake Forest led 53-44 with 11:28 remaining before Landon Wolf tied it with a 3 at 6:29 and Ty Pence put the Redbirds ahead on the next possession.
  • Nine of Illinois State’s 10 made 3-pointers came after halftime during a closing 28-16 stretch that featured multiple ties and lead changes.
  • Ty Pence scored 23 points (17 after the break), Kinziger added 19 with five 3s and five assists, and Chase Walker finished with 15.
  • Tre’Von Spillers paced Wake Forest with 24 on 11-for-11 shooting and eight boards, while Juke Harris scored 20 to finish the season with 750 points, the second-highest total in program history; Illinois State logged its first two-win NIT run since 1996.