Brad Underwood has the perfect attitude following the Illinois basketball loss to Baylor

It is just an exhibition game, but it still stings to see the Illinois basketball team lose to Baylor.

The Illini were getting pounded in the first half of this game, giving up 63 points to the Bears. While Illinois managed to fight back and looked much better in the second half, this immediate jolt to reality was concerning to most.

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Thankfully, it was just an exhibition game. Illinois got to see some glaring weak spots, and even with the putrid defense, head coach Brad Underwood had the exact attitude needed in the postgame press conference.

“Man, that was awesome. That is really good to get punched and then punched again. If the first half didn’t end, we would still be getting punched.”

Illinois got shredded in the first half to the tune of 63 points. The Bears shot 11-for-18 from three-point range. The second half was much better. The Illini came out and had a clear goal of slowing down Baylor from deep.

In the final 20 minutes of action, the Bears were 0-for-7 from three-point range. Underwood took notice of this improvement.

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“Hats off to Baylor. They are good. Their guards are terrific. But it was very much a wake-up call. I was proud of our guys in the second half. I thought it was a much better focus.”

It is good that Illinois isn’t just playing cupcake teams in exhibition games. We have taken the non-conference mentality of to be the best you have to beat the best and applied it to the exhibition games.

Getting prepared for the season against some of the best teams in the country is a great idea, and it is a great stress test for the freshmen, too.

Brad Underwood sees the massive glaring issue for the Illinois basketball program

You can’t ignore the improvement of Illinois’ defense, or at least the cooling of Baylor in the second half. Underwood made note of this improvement, but he also sees the glaring issue that is upon us.

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“You go from 63 to 32 points; you don’t give up a three. We did cover scouting report, and you can have a long…

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Publish date : 2026-10-24 13:53:00

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