Illinois HC Brad Underwood gives brutal review of 91-88 Big Ten Tournament OT upset loss

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Illinois HC Brad Underwood gives brutal review of 91-88 Big Ten Tournament OT upset loss originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

For the Illinois Fighting Illini, it was here we go all over again Friday from the United Center in Chicago in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. Illinois (24-8) met the Wisconsin Badgers (24-9) in the second of four games on the tournament's fourth day, a rematch of the Badgers' 92-90 overtime win in Champaign on Feb. 10.

Once again, in an almost identical sequence, the Illini again squandered a double-digit lead that saw them maintain a 58-45 lead with under 13 minutes left in regulation to the dismay of coach Brad Underwood before being eliminated in a 91-88 overtime stunner.

Underwood, whose Illini reached the Elite Eight for the first time in 19 seasons in 2024, again had high expectations with a mixed core of young and veteran talent, largely led by freshman guard Keaton Wagler. Wagler and fellow teammate, forward David Mirković, combined for 38 points, but it wasn't enough to hold off a furious Badgers rally with a combined 69 points from starting guards Nick Boyd and John Blackwell.

While Underwood appeared complimentary of the Badgers, there seem to be more questions than answers about Illinois entering the NCAA Tournament.

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Illinois, Wisconsin, and the other 66 schools will have their fate decided Sunday evening as to who, when and where they will play.

"You get out-rebounded, you go home," Underwood said. "If we're not consistent on the defensive side, we'll go home. Again, offensively, we've been gifted, and we are. The other night, we didn't shoot the ball very well, and maybe it's the United Center. We lost a game to Alabama here when we didn't make free throws either. For a team that's top 10 in the country in free-throw rate, that's frustrating."

Underwood still trusts his offense to get the job done with March Madness right around the corner.

"I'm not worried about the offense," Underwood said. "I'm worried about what it does on the other end. We've got the No. 1 offense in college basketball, and we got really good shots again today."

Underwood is ready to move forward, even though Illinois' trip to Chicago didn't go according to plan.

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"They're trying really, really hard," Underwood said. "I thought we played loose today. I thought we played competitive. That's how we've got to stay, competitive. This group likes to be loose. I thought they were very, very loose, to a point where they're too loose. We've got to stay focused, especially when the game comes easy for us on the offensive end."

We'll see if Illinois can make the necessary adjustments to avoid a repeat of last season's first-weekend exit.

Meanwhile, the Badgers advance to the tournament semifinals and will meet the top-seeded Michigan Wolverines (30-2) in a rematch of a 91-88 thriller Jan. 10.

The tipoff is set for 1 p.m. ET on CBS. The winner will face the other semifinalist, either the Purdue Boilermakers (25-8) or the UCLA Bruins (23-10), in Sunday's championship game.

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