Brad Underwood Hits Career Milestone, Climbs Illinois Record Books With VCU Win

Saturday's 76-55 win over No. 11 seed VCU most importantly advanced Illinois to the Sweet 16 and kept the season alive for an outgoing group of seniors and NBA Draft picks.

But from a big-picture standpoint, it also shows how Brad Underwood has steadily elevated himself among coaches in Illinois' program history.

With 26 wins this season, Underwood has two of the top five single-season win totals in Illinois history (along with the 2023-24 season):

2005: 37-2, Bruce Weber (National runner-up)
1989: 31-5, Lou Henson (Final Four)
2024: 29-9, Brad Underwood (Elite Eight)
2001: 27-8, Bill Self (Elite Eight)
2026: 26-8, Brad Underwood (Sweet 16)
2006: 26-7, Bruce Weber (Round of 32)
2004: 26-7, Bruce Weber (Sweet 16)
2002: 26-9, Bill Self (Sweet 16)
1985: 26-9, Lou Henson (Sweet 16)
1984: 26-5, Lou Henson (Elite Eight)

Illinois moves on to face No. 2 seed Houston in the Sweet 16 Thursday at 9:05 p.m. CT at the Toyota Center in Houston. Seeking the program's first national championship, Underwood has spoken throughout the season of his team's ability to make a deep run, and two convincing wins to begin the NCAA Tournament reinforce that belief.

"It's why I came here. It's why I'm still doing it," Underwood said Saturday. "If I didn't think that we could have the ability to get to Sweet 16s and have the ability to win the national championship – and it's hard – then I wouldn't. That's what drives me. That's everything that drives me, and I said that in my opening press conference. I say it all the time.

"The first day I feel like we can't win a national championship, they need to hire somebody else or I need to retire and go do that. But we're in that mix. And our fans are great – the best in the country. We're selling out, we got a great student section. We're getting great players. Our staff is doing an incredible job. Our facilities are incredible. Got an athletic director that I love. Why would you ever want to leave that? And it takes all of that to be successful, and I've got it."

The 21-point victory over VCU also marked Underwood's 300th career win. A portion of those wins came at Stephen F. Austin and Oklahoma State, but Underwood is still fourth in program history with 191 wins, close behind Weber's 210.

The original Every Day Guy.

With the win over VCU, @CoachUnderwood gets his 300th Division 1 victory! pic.twitter.com/oXg2S2BfK8
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) March 22, 2026

The Illini have advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons with Underwood and the 10th time since 1975, when the field increased to 32. It's the first three-year span with two Sweet 16 runs in more than two decades.

2001: Elite Eight (Self)
2002: Sweet 16 (Self)
2004: Sweet 16 (Weber)
2005: National runner-up (Weber)

That makes Underwood one of four Illinois coaches since 1975 with multiple Sweet 16 appearances, joining Henson (four), Self and Weber (two each). Underwood's eight NCAA Tournament wins are fourth-most in program history, trailing Henson (12) and Weber and Harry Combes (nine each).

Underwood doesn't have a Final Four or national runner-up run like Henson and Weber yet, but regular appearances in the Sweet 16 are a sign that he could eventually break through.

"It's really hard," Underwood said. "It's really, really hard. We play in a heck of a league. And I've said all along this is a top-10 job, and it's my goal to try and get there every single time. And I'm not trying to make – it's hard, it's really hard to do. It's a bad break, it's a bad game, and you have to be very talented."

"I've got a great staff, and like I said, I enjoy coaching this team. Our fans are second to none, and I'm really happy for them. They deserve it, and I hope to see them in Houston, and we'll take it one game at a time there."

Underwood's ability to retool Illinois' roster year over year has made his tenure all the more impressive. Ty Rodgers is the only player from the 2024 Elite Eight roster still at Illinois, and he has been sidelined all season because of an injury.

This season's top three scorers – Keaton Wagler, David Mirkovic and Andrej Stojakovic – weren't on the team last season, but they have fit seamlessly into the program's culture and style of play.

Illinois is rolling early 🔥#MarchMadness @IlliniMBB pic.twitter.com/MykLdzh60A
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 22, 2026

Wagler is projected to be a top-10 NBA Draft pick after the season, similar to one-and-done players like Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley last season. And Stojakovic transferred to Illinois from Cal in part because he wanted to join a winning program.

The constant changes make things hard on coaches and create uncertainty year over year, but Underwood has raised Illinois' floor. Now it's about reaching the mountaintop, and he thinks he has the group to do so.

"I think that's one of the challenges of this, is finding guys that all want to come together for one reason – and that's winning and that's trying to get here," Underwood said. "Your heart goes out to each and every one of them, but a guy like Andrej, who hadn't, and comes here solely for that experience, and to see him do it and all see this group – a bunch of guys from the Balkan countries come here because they're believing in what we're trying to do – that makes it all worthwhile as a coach."