The UConn Huskies have moved on past March into April, as Dan Hurley has reached his third National Championship Game in the past four seasons.
Getting there took a much different path than previous runs, including a huge comeback against Duke, coupled with a Braylon Mullins buzzer-beater to reach the Final Four, and a steady performance over Illinois in their penultimate game. Unfortunately, the win for UConn meant a disappointing 71-62 loss for coach Brad Underwood and his Fighting Illini, who won the South Region as the No. 3 seed.
Neither side shot particularly well, with Illinois hitting field goals at 34 percent for the game compared to 35 percent for UConn. And while Illinois outrebounded the Huskies and had more free-throw attempts, ultimately, Hurley’s group prevailed, hitting more three-pointers and having much fewer turnovers than in previous outings.
After the game, coach Underwood was available for media questions along with several players. He gave credit to Hurley and UConn for getting a win to return to the championship, and indicated he felt his team’s shots weren’t falling as they could have, but he told them at halftime to keep shooting.
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Unfortunately, things didn’t work out in his team’s advantage, despite his message for the second half. UConn stayed in control, even as the Fighting Illini chipped into their lead.
In what became emotional for the head coach, he admitted that he had a hard time when it came to watching his team’s season end and reflecting on it so soon afterward.
“I’m really bad at the end of seasons, guys. I’m terrible. I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’ve never been around a group of guys who’ve given me more joy,” he said at the postgame press conference of his team, adding, “We didn’t have any bad practices. They played for the name on the front.”
“It’s just an extremely high-character locker room, and endings stink,” Underwood said, praising various Illinois players, including his freshman guard, Wagler, Tomislav Ivisi, and Andrej Stojakovic, who transferred to the school for this season.
“Am I competitive? Does today stink? It hurts,” he admitted, adding, “My gut hurts so bad right now that I feel for all of them.”
He indicated he was excited about the “joy” that it brought to people with Illinois getting to this level, and then mentioned his intent on returning to this stage of the Big Dance during his coaching tenure.
“By God, as long as I’m the ball coach, I better not take 21 damn years to get back there,” Underwood told reporters.
For the Fighting Illini, this was their sixth trip to the Final Four, and Underwood’s first as their head coach. They’ve yet to win a championship during their school history, but it appears Underwood believes his team is on track to do so.
He said he would reflect on the program’s direction at a later time, admitting in an emotional moment, “I feel sad. If you wanna know the truth, I’m sad….Seasons coming to an end stink.”
“I’m gonna steal a quote from Kelvin Sampson: ‘I may not be as big a part of their life, but they’re my life.’ I’m sad,” he said.
With the loss, Illinois will now have another one in the coming weeks, as many believe their star freshman, Keaton Wagler, has established himself among the top 10 prospects for this year’s NBA Draft, so he could very likely opt to go pro.
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