Illinois State, Wake Forest battle for NIT quarterfinal spot

Another prolific scoring performance by Juke Harris allowed Wake Forest to keep its season alive and the best game of Landon Wolf's career enabled Illinois State to continue playing.

Both players are hoping for another big showing Sunday when Harris and top-seeded Wake Forest host Wolf and No. 4 seed Illinois State in the second round of the NIT in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wake Forest (18-16) is attempting to advance to the NIT quarterfinals for the fourth time in school history after doing so in 1983, 2000 and 2022. Illinois State (21-12) is aiming to advance beyond the second round for the first time since 1996.

Harris helped the Demon Deacons open the tournament with an 82-72 victory over Navy on Wednesday when he scored 26 points. Harris scored at least 20 points for the 19th time and surpassed 25 points for the 10th time.

Harris produced his big effort while also collecting six rebounds and career-high tying five assists. He became the second Demon Deacon with a 25-5-5 showing in the postseason since 1996-97, joining Chris Paul's effort in the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament against Manhattan.

"I don't know what else to say about (Harris)," Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said. "He's a hell of a player."

The Demon Deacons shot 59.3% in the second half and made 14 of 18 dunks and layups after enduring some struggles against Navy's zone defense.

"It was a bit of a slog tonight a couple of times, but we found a way to win," Forbes said.

Wolf produced his first career 20-point game on Feb. 26, 2023, and did not score more than 14 points during the regular season. In Wednesday's 79-58 win over visiting Kent State, the senior scored 18 of his 24 points in the first half when the Redbirds garnered a 20-point halftime lead.

A career 38.1% 3-point shooter, Wolf tied a career high by hitting five 3s on 11 attempts as Illinois State hit 13 of 35 as a team. The big 3-point shooting night occurred after the Redbirds were 3 of 20 from behind the arc in a 22-point loss against Northern Iowa in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament quarterfinals.

"Obviously, things didn't go the way we wanted to in St. Louis, and we got another chance to rewrite the ending of the season," Illinois State guard Johnny Kinzinger said.

--Field Level Media