Brad Underwood's Best Quotes After Illinois Basketball Routed Penn

Line ‘em up, knock ‘em down. Illinois’ encore to its program-record 75-point win over FDU was just a 42-point blasting of Penn, the Ivy League favorite and a team on the heels of an NCAA Tournament appearance. Here are the key quotes from Brad Underwood after the Illini’s 112-70 victory on Thursday night:

Penn isn’t a rollover

Nov 5, 2026; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Penn Quakers head coach Fran McCaffery reacts during the first half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“People need to understand that’s an NCAA Tournament team, with four starters back, and legit size,” Underwood said. “Transfer from Notre Dame, who was a top-50 kid and a McDonald’s All-American in [TJ] Power.”

Penn was picked to win the Ivy League this season, and the Quakers are currently ranked No. 134 in KenPom. For context, FDU, the Illini’s Monday opponent, is No. 346. The final scoreboard may not reflect it, but Penn is a team that can go to the Big Dance, and, potentially, win a game or two.

Brad Underwood was not happy with Illinois’ first half

“I was maybe as upset as I’ve been at half with the way we played,” Underwood began. “I thought the ball stuck. I didn’t think we played – even though we had 50-some points – it wasn’t the right way. And we had a nice stretch defensively that I thought got us that lead… I thought our defense was more impactful in that stretch, got us some easy baskets. But, I thought, offensively, it didn’t resemble anything that was even close to the Fairleigh Dickinson game… I thought our defensive rebounding stunk.”

Illinois had 10 assists on 20 made baskets in the first half. Part of the ball sticking may have been Andrej Stojakovic, who had 21 points at halftime. Even when he converts at the hoop, multiple possessions in a row dominated by Stojakovic and only Stojakovic touching the ball is detrimental to offensive synergy and rhythm.

Fortunately, Stojakovic kept the rock moving with three assists against zero turnovers in the second half. As for the rebounding, Penn had a whopping nine offensive boards in the first half.

It finished the game with 16. Nevertheless, its offensive rebounding rate of just 26.2 percent is a number Underwood should be OK with. The only reason the Quakers’ offensive rebounding total was so high is because they missed a ton of shots (61 missed field goals).

Illinois’ ability to plug and play on offense

Nov 2, 2026; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Zavier Zens (22) drives the ball against Fairleigh Dickinson Knights forward Travis Torain (22) during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“It’s simple,” Underwood said of the Illini offense. “You can input any player. I could put five guys out there, and we’re all basically doing the same thing. And so it’s not where there’s sets and actions and different positions.

“We can go do the same thing. So they’ve had a lot of reps at it, and they’ve gotten good. And now, it’s keep stressing them on the defensive end to grow there.”

With pure concepts – and seemingly straightforward ones, at that – and zero sets, Illinois can drop any freshman into the game and not have to worry about a thing. These first-year players don’t need to remember their spot on a specific play. It’s just a free-flowing scheme with a tiny bit of structure. Of course, it also helps that the Illini freshmen are so talented.

Tomislav Ivisic’s improved mobility

“The one thing we’ve yet to see from Tomislav [Ivisic] is what his face-up game is,” Underwood started. “We see it every day in practice. Tomi’s a really good ball-handler. He’s a very good decision-maker. I think it will enhance his ability to elevate his teammates.

“Not just from a post-up, but from a rip drive. He can go right. He can go left. He finishes with either hand. His moving is so, so, so much better than a year ago. He’s more mobile. He’s moving quicker. So, I think it’s perfect.

“And when you start looking at next-level stuff, that’s what it is. That’s what it is. There’s no back-down post-ups in the NBA anymore. It’s about five guys out, guarding multiple positions. And look what he did tonight against the point guard. His movement has allowed him to be very successful.”

Ivisic dished out seven assists on Thursday night. He checked Penn’s point guard on defense. He played in the post – which may not help his draft stock but certainly helps the Illini – and he also facilitated from the mid-post. We know Ivisic can stroke it from deep.

But he did everything else on Thursday. It’s that versatility from Illinois’ seven-footer that makes this team such a tough guard. And when he’s also playing positionless defense – at least for a night – it makes the Illini a near-impossible defense to attack.

Is Jason Jakstys ahead of Zvonimir Ivisic in the Illini rotation?

“Yeah, Jason [Jaskstys has] earned it and [Zvonimir Ivisic has] been out for different things at different times,” Underwood said of Jakstys entering the game before Big Z in each outing this year.

“And it’s not a take on his ability or any of that. We all know he’s got the opportunity to be a special talent and special player. The one thing we feel really good with Jason is he can play a lot of different spots because of his ball-handling, and he’s another guy that’s a very, very good passer. Some of it is kind of matchups, as well. But that’ll become very important as we start moving into some of these higher-level games.”

It has been a surprise to see Jakstys off the bench before Z. It seems safe to say as the level of competition increases – a road trip to Texas Tech is up next – Big Z will move closer to the front of the rotation.

Stefan Vaaks playing defense and rebounding

“Huge,” Underwood said of Stefan Vaaks’ impact on defense and the glass. “Huge. It’s a win. It’s winning basketball. It’s winning basketball when he does that. There’s tough nights when the ball doesn’t go in, he found ways. He got downhill a little bit offensively, but defensively I thought he was really, really impactful.”

The hope entering the year was that Vaaks could be a serviceable defender. Through two games, he has, unexpectedly, been an above-average one. With his so-so athleticism, it’ll be interesting to see if he can continue flourishing on that end against high-level teams, but the first two outings have been thoroughly encouraging.”

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