Brad Underwood Got His Final Four Breakthrough, Now He Must Top UConn

Brad Underwood has been waiting a long time for a moment like this to make the Final Four and he’s finally reached the pinnacle at Illinois, but it was a long time coming.

“So many people that have helped along the way. And you believe in something so much that it drives me every single day to want to make it happen,” he said after his team beat Iowa in the Elite 8.

“One of the most fulfilling moments personally that I just had was standing on the ladder with the net and then seeing our fans and being able to just -- that wasn't about me. That was about our fans, and that was about what's probably going on in Champaign right now, because that's what you believe this to be, and you know it is.”

It’s been a long road for Underwood since taking the job ahead of the 2017-18 season. He finished below .500 in his first two seasons and then when it looked like the Illini were going to make its first NCAA Tournament since 2012-13, the pandemic canceled the season.

“Coaches win games,” he added. “I've got a great, great staff that makes me look good. We've been able to assemble a group of players that I love coaching.”

In 2020-21, Illinois made the tournament but couldn’t get out of the first weekend for three straight seasons until its run in 2023-24 to the Elite 8 before running into the buzzsaw that was the UConn Huskies.

Now, Underwood and the Illini get another crack at the Huskies after two convincing losses in its last two matchups.

In the Elite 8, UConn went on a 30-0 run spanning the first and second halves en route to its first of back-to-back National Championships. Then, the programs scheduled a non-conference game in November at Madison Square Garden this season and the Huskies, again, showed its class winning 74-61 in a game the Illini never held a lead.

After tackling the Final Four hurdle, now Brad Underwood and Illinois must try and clear the UConn hurdle

“We play in the best league in the country, so anything's possible when it comes to winning a National Championship,” he added. “I've never doubted us getting to a Final Four would happen. I have thought we have had other teams capable. But I also know how doggone hard it is to do it.”

Illinois was Underwood’s dream job and reaching this stage of the season is the goal for every coach and player, now he will look to finish off the storybook season with two more victories.