‘Bring your hard hat’: Illinois earns praise from Big Ten rivals at Media Days

ROSEMONT, Ill. — Toughness, hard to guard and crashing the glass.

Of all the words floating around Big Ten Media Days, anytime the Illinois Fighting Illini came up, those were the commonalities.

Head coach Brad Underwood’s squad has been getting more than their fair share of national attention, with many outlets labeling them as one of the top teams in the country.

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But having their competitors speak highly of them lends a different degree of credibility to the potential of the 2026-27 roster.

One of the people who gave them the most credit was Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg, who has been competing against Underwood and the Illini since 2019.

His biggest point of emphasis: how hard they fight for rebounds.

“With their rebounding, they’re so hard to prepare for, if you don’t bring your hard hat against a Brad Underwood team, you’re going to get embarrassed,” Hoiberg said. “They got 40% of their misses back a year ago; that’s insane, that number.”

In 2025-26, Illinois and Nebraska split their season series, with each team picking up a hard-fought win on their opponent’s home floor.

Cornhuskers forward Pryce Sandfort echoed some of the same sentiments as his head coach, citing the Illini’s physicality as something that they had to prepare for as a team.

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“They’re very, very physical, the offensive glass is a big scout piece for us every time we play them,” Sandfort said. “You know they’re going to hit you pretty hard, so boxing out is a big part of it, but also they have so much skill and talent across the board.”

The Illini and Cornhuskers battle down low in a matchup during the 2025-26 season. | TCR // Jack Jungmann

Iowa head coach Ben McCollum, whose Hawkeyes were knocked off by the Illini in the Elite Eight back in March, was another who shared his thoughts on Illinois.

He pointed to the prowess of big men David Mirkovic and Tomislav Ivisic as a big reason why the Illini can become a headache to deal with defensively.

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“It makes the guard’s job…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/bring-hard-hat-illinois-earns-212946835.html

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Publish date : 2026-10-08 21:29:00

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