Brad Underwood Revisits Illinois’ Last Three Losses to UConn – But Isn’t Backing Down

The last time Illinois beat UConn was [checks notes … still flipping pages] in 1938 in Huff Hall, back when it was called Huff Gym. And the Illini’s last trio of losses to the Huskies have been anything but painless.

Let’s go down the list – or, better yet, we’ll have coach Brad Underwood do the honors:

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Brad Underwood details Illinois’ recent struggles against UConn

Apr 4, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood reacts after a play against the UConn Huskies during the first half of a semifinal of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“Danny [Hurley] wants to play again, we’ll play,” Underwood said to CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander. “One of the best college basketball teams I’ve ever played against was that UConn team that won it, and beat us in the Elite Eight. A game that was close for a half, and we’re still trying to score on Donovan [Clingan]. He blocked everything. But just a great, great basketball team.”

For the Illinois fans who have somehow managed to block that nightmare of a memory out (kudos to you), that would be the infamous “30-0 run” game Underwood is referring to. Late in the first half, the game was knotted at 23 apiece. Then, the Illini didn’t score for a long time. They looked up and the score read 53-23. That was all she wrote for Illinois in 2024.

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“And then last year we were finding ourselves,” Underwood said. “You look at the box score, I hardly played Keaton [Wagler]. I had no idea what I was doing with [David] Mirkovic at that time. And we weren’t a good basketball team.”

This was the Black Friday matchup in 2025 in New York City. Save for Kylan Boswell’s 25-point, nine-rebound performance, there weren’t any redeeming moments or performances in a 74-61 loss.

Wagler and Mirkovic also played just a combined 32 minutes. But the loss sparked changes across the board, many of which resulted in…

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Publish date : 2026-10-13 21:05:00

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