Brad Underwood After Illinois' Loss at Northwestern: 'I've Gotten Soft in Practice'

No. 19 Illinois traveled north to take on Northwestern in Evanston in the Illini's Big Ten opener Friday, falling short in overtime for the second straight year – this time by a score of 70-66.

After being ahead nearly every second of regulation, Illinois blew a 10-point second-half lead before losing the overtime battle 14-10 to let a win slip out of their grasp.

While the Illini's poor shooting from deep (26.5 percent) stole the headlines, coach Brad Underwood was less concerned about the shots not falling and more concerned about what happened after:

“If we shoot 50 [threes], I don’t care. It’s math," he said. "But you’ve got to offensive rebound. And I’ve gotten soft in practice. And not as demanding as I should be. We could talk about it. We can work on it in practice. But we were one of the top teams in the country last year in rebounding missed threes. …We’ve talked about it, but we’ve got to find some guys tough enough to want to go do that.”

After watching the Illini on Friday, it's hard to disagree with Underwood.

Consider the two other games Illinois shot under 30 percent from three. Against Oakland, Illinois shot 28.0 percent from three but snagged 12 offensive boards. In a win over Maryland Eastern Shore, the Illini were 25 percent from long distance but wrangled 19 offensive rebounds.

In the loss to Northwestern, Illinois grabbed just seven offensive rebounds.

When the shots are falling, it’s obviously not an issue. But for a team that lives and dies at the 3-point line, the Illini can ill afford poor shooting nights when the offensive rebounding isn't there to make up for it.

Yet it would seem Underwood doesn’t have to look far to find those tough guys he’s looking for.

Whether it’s Morez Johnson Jr., Kylan Boswell or Will Riley, Illinois has numerous players – big and small – willing to bang.

Won't be outworked.@morezjohnsonjr rocks the rim 😈

1H 9:08 | #Illini 29, Little Rock 13
📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/3iNRErDOXN
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) November 26, 2024

And the numbers back that up, too, as the Illini entered Friday's game averaging 14.3 offensive rebounds per game (27th out of 355 Division I clubs). But no season statistics are going to convince Underwood that his squad wasn't up to the task on Friday.

And with No. 11 Wisconsin and No. 1 Tennessee up next, the Illini can expect a few very intense practices in the coming days.

Brad Underwood After Illinois' Loss at Northwestern: 'I've Gotten Soft in Practice'

More From Illinois on Sports Illustrated:

Illinois Basketball Gets Bodied in 70-66 Overtime Loss at Northwestern

Northwestern's Chris Collins Offers High Praise for Illinois Basketball

Illinois Basketball's Next Shot to Upset an NCAA No. 1 – Tennessee – Is Coming Soon