The Fighting Illini gave up the iconic 30-0 run that solidified the Huskies’ dominance that Saturday night in Boston en route to a successful national championship defense, but head coach Brad Underwood now looks back at that moment as the beginning of what he terms a reload rather than a rebuild over the past two seasons in Champaign.
“I don’t think we’ve rebuilt. I think we just reload,” he reiterated Thursday, two days before Illinois faces UConn again in the program’s first Final Four since battling North Carolina to the wire in a classic championship matchup in 2005. “It’s looked different. I’ve said all along: You just have to keep knocking on the door, and our opportunities were going to come.”
Illinois’ 77-52 loss to UConn in the East regional final two years ago may seem like a game where some coaches might be content with burning the tape before tipping their hats in concession. Not so for Underwood, who praised the experience of going through the pain of defeat for painting a more intricate picture of what it takes to advance further.
“We learned a lot from that game,” he said. “I thought that team was a Final Four team that just happened to play a damn good basketball team in the Elite 8, so we didn’t get there. But I think we grew from that from the standpoint of understanding how hard it is, what that looks like.”
“It’s hard to argue with what Danny has done throughout his time there and the consistency. That’s the one thing we’ve tried to match, the consistency, and not ever look at it as a rebuild, but just a reload.”
The method in which the Illini has refilled its chamber has not gone unnoticed in the opposing locker room, either. UConn’s elder statesman complimented the work Underwood has done in returning Illinois to the national stage, and knows he and his teammates will not have it easy inside Lucas Oil Stadium Saturday night.
“They’re an elite program,” Alex Karaban said of Illinois. “You don’t (just) make the Elite 8, you’re there for a reason, and Coach Underwood’s done a great job there. They’ve just really established themselves as one of the best teams in the Big Ten, but nationally, too. They find talent, they do a great job of bringing in freshmen out of high school and really develop them throughout the years, but at the same time, find portal guys that fit in perfectly for them. So I have a lot of respect for Illinois, I really love what Coach Underwood does there, and it’s always exciting to play a well-respected program.”
UConn always carries a deep admiration for whomever it is matched up against, but head coach Dan Hurley expressed a strong appreciation Thursday for the parallels between his own career and that of Underwood’s, which started in the junior college ranks before taking him to the Big Ten. Hurley, who sent a tweet after the Huskies’ win over Illinois in November indicating he hoped to see the Illini again on this stage, elaborated on the respect factor.
“I’ve been a fan of Brad since his time at Stephen F. Austin,” Hurley shared. “(Thomas) Walkup, some of those great teams that made runs in the tournament. I just love the toughness his teams play with, I love their offensive design and the way that they play. He’s a coach’s coach, a JUCO guy the way old-school coaches used to build their career. I take a lot of pride in being a high school coach that had to work his way to here, and I kind of look at it the same with him.”
Illinois’ toughness has ramped up since the 74-61 UConn win at Madison Square Garden on November 28, one in which both teams fought injuries and the Huskies had Tarris Reed, Jr. and Braylon Mullins on minutes restrictions, with the latter making his season debut that afternoon. Therefore, not much can be truly gleaned on film, but the basic understanding of what lies ahead is something that UConn is prepared for.
“You take away concepts from that game,” Karaban advised. “You take away how physical they are, how badly they want to rebound, how elite they are rebounding. (Keaton) Wagler played 10 minutes and now he’s turned into an All-American candidate. (David) Mirkovic played like, 15 minutes. Offensively, they really have one through five out there, guys that could shoot. It’s a really tough team to play against. They present different challenges.”
Not only does Illinois represent another overly physical adversary for the Huskies Saturday, but there is also the mental hurdle of overcoming the high of Sunday’s regional final win over Duke and Mullins’ game-winning shot. Both he and Hurley acknowledged the moment and a need to move past it, one more bluntly than the other.
“You can’t live too long on the high of a moment,” Mullins admitted. “I think I just have to flip the page and focus on the next game. Illinois is just very impactful on the offensive end with their size, and they have really good players all the way around. We’ve gotta figure out how to limit them and just figure out how to play the hardest on the court.”
His coach mentioned the need to pull everyone back together two days later, diverting full focus on the primary objective.
“We came here for rings, not watches,” Hurley deadpanned. “Everyone that comes to the Final Four gets a beautiful watch, but only one group is gonna get a ring. So get off social media, stop injecting the dopamine into your arm, and get serious about the preparation and practice. We don’t hang banners for Final Fours at UConn, we hang national championship banners.”
“If you want to hang a banner, you gotta get your eyes off social media, get your face out of the phone and get locked in on Illinois. Illinois is one of the best teams in the country, and they’re as big a threat to winning this tournament as any of the four teams.”
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