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PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — It’s time to get back to work for the Illini.
After a weekend of celebrating the team’s first Final Four berth in 21 years, the Illinois basketball team is now honing in on Saturday’s national semifinal game against UConn.
And a week’s worth of practice with his team is exactly what Brad Underwood wanted.
“They make me smile, they make me laugh,” Underwood said. “We’ve had very, very few miserable days or bad days of practice. This team just doesn’t have them.”
The Illini will practice through Thursday in Champaign before heading east to practice in Indianapolis on Friday.
“To be able to extend (practice), we are going into April for practice. Not many teams get to do that,” said Underwood. “I’m blessed.”
Meanwhile, Illinois State is also headed to Indy where the Redbirds will play in the NIT Final Four. ISU senior Brandon Lieb is an Illinois transfer and is happy to see his current and former teams playing big games this week.
“I had great relationships with all the coaches (at Illinois). It’s been great to watch. I’m really happy for them,” said Lieb. “We will be out there with them in Indy. Maybe some Illinois fans can out to support us and we will do the same for them. It’s good to see Illinois basketball succeeding in any way.”
ISU plays Auburn in the NIT semifinals Thursday night. The ISU women will play in the WNIT semifinals at South Dakota on Wednesday.
“I think there’s excitement in the cities of Bloomington and Normal,” said ISU senior Boden Skunberg. “You see it with the fans. We have plenty of conversations with fans and donors. It’s an exciting time to be a Redbird right now.”
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