After No. 11 Illinois held off Maryland 78-72 on Sunday in College Park, MD, Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood didn’t like a question from a reporter. And he made that very clear.
“Brad, you’ve struggled a little bit in some close games of late,” a reporter said to Underwood in the postgame press conference. “Does this give you guys confidence because you know you’re going to have close ones coming up?”
Illinois HC Brad Underwood did not appreciate a reporter’s question about closing out games following the team’s win at Maryland to end the regular season. pic.twitter.com/ShQeLdS57p
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 8, 2026
“I think that’s a bunch of crap,” Underwood said. “You can think what you want to think. We’ve pulled away in a lot of those, too. So, yeah, next question. I didn’t like that one very much.”
Illinois has lost three overtime games since Feb. 7 (at Michigan State, vs Wisconsin, and at UCLA), so it’s easy to see where this reporter is coming from with the question. The Big Ten Tournament is next week, followed by the NCAA Tournament, and grinding out wins in such environments can be a huge challenge.
Then again, to Underwood’s point, Illinois (24-7) has many blowout wins vs quality programs and ranks No. 5 in the Ken Pomeroy efficiency ratings. The Fighting Illini also entered play on Sunday at No. 5 in the NET rankings, with a record of 7-7 in Quad 1 games, 7-0 in Quad 2 games. They don’t have a single loss that isn’t a Quad 1 game. Most bracketologists have Illinois as a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
So, it’s understandable that Underwood might be defensive about his team in what’s been a fantastic season.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.