Brad Underwood holds back tears after Illinois’ championship dreams crumble in Final Four

Brad Underwood holds back tears after Illinois’ championship dreams crumble in Final Four originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Illinois coach Brad Underwood didn’t sugarcoat it. He didn’t try to spin it. He didn’t pretend the pain wasn’t real.

“I’m sad,” Underwood told reporters in Indianapolis. “Endings stink.”

Illinois’ 71-62 loss to UConn wasn’t about effort. It wasn’t about toughness. It wasn’t about preparation. It was about the one thing Underwood couldn’t coach into existence on Saturday night: the ball going through the net.

Illinois shot 19-for-56. They missed at least a dozen shots at the rim. They went 6-for-26 from three. They generated the looks they wanted – Underwood repeated that over and over – but the basketball gods closed the lid.

“We missed shots we normally make,” center Tomislav Ivisic said. “I don’t know what else to call it but bad luck.”

And yet, Illinois (28-9) defended well enough to win. They held UConn (34-5) to 35.5 percent shooting. They won the rebounding battle 44-37. They limited the Huskies to 20 points in the paint. They turned the game into the exact kind of half-court slugfest they needed.

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But UConn hit 12 threes. Illinois hit six.

That was the margin.

Guard Keaton Wagler poured in 20 points and played like a star who refused to let the season end quietly. Ivisic added 16. Guard Andrej Stojakovic grabbed eight rebounds and attacked relentlessly, even as the rim betrayed him.

But Illinois finished with three assists – a number that speaks to UConn’s defensive mastery more than any flaw in the Illini offense.

“They forced some of those misses,” Underwood said. “But I loved our looks. I wouldn’t change anything.”

The postgame locker room was raw. Wagler described the gloomy, orange-clad scene as “a lot of tears.” Underwood called this team “the most joyful group I’ve ever coached.” He praised their…

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Publish date : 2026-04-05 23:56:00

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