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Why Brad Underwood Has 'The Best Job In College Basketball' at Illinois

In addition to a well-rounded effort from his team, Underwood appreciated the strong showing from Illinois fans at USC
Jack Ankony|
Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood greets the crowd at the State Farm Center before a game against Rutgers.
Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood greets the crowd at the State Farm Center before a game against Rutgers. | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

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Some Big Ten coaches complain about travel challenges created by conference expansion out west.

But from the on-court results to the fan turnout, it didn't bother No. 10 Illinois and coach Brad Underwood one bit in Wednesday's 101-65 win over USC. It wasn't necessarily a home game with the Orange Krush, but Illinois fans invaded USC's Galen Center – roughly 2,000 miles from the State Farm Center – more than most opposing fan bases do for Big Ten road games.

For a Champaign native like Illinois point guard Kylan Boswell, it was great to see so much orange in the stands.

"That's nuts," Boswell said after the game. "I remember being a freshman here, and the 'SC game, playing for Arizona, it was packed red. And now seeing us, just how we're traveling ... yeah, it's pretty surreal. Just another great thing about Illinois basketball is how much our fans love us and care about us. But, yeah, it's pretty crazy to see we're all the way in California and there's more orange and blue than 'SC red."

Underwood certainly appreciated the support, and his players put on a show for the Illini faithful. They saw one of Illinois' most complete games of the season as seven players scored in double figures, led by Andrej Stojakovic's 22 points in his first game back from an ankle injury.

"I don't know how else to say it. I've got the best job in the country, and a large piece of that is because of our fans and their support," Underwood said postgame. "It was great at the hotel to see so many. I love when [Illinois associate athletic director] Joey Biggs sends out that we don't have any more tickets. That's a great thing. And this goes back years, so our fans support us. I can't say thank you enough. You make it fun, and you make it the best job in college basketball, in my opinion."

Any speculation that Underwood might leave Illinois to coach his alma mater, Kansas State – which fired coach Jerome Tang on Sunday – seemed far-fetched, given his consistent success and resources at Illinois. Underwood's comments on Wednesday should put the idea to rest entirely.

He has a top-10 team that's alone in second place in the Big Ten at 13-3, two games behind 15-1 Michigan. That might even be short-changing the Illini, who are No. 4 in the NET rankings and KenPom, and appear to have what it takes to make a Final Four run.

Doing so will take more performances like Wednesday's at USC, a sign that Illinois' high level of play can travel. And Underwood, who came across as being ultra-confident postgame – and for good reason – likes his team's chances no matter where the schedule takes them.

"I'm one of those coaches, I really don't give a daggum where we play," Underwood said on the Big Ten Network. "I don't worry about the trips. We're spoiled. We charter. We have great food. We stay at nice places. It's really not that hard. Yeah, playing on the road is really hard in the Big Ten. This is a trip that the schedule says we gotta go play. We got UCLA next, who's very good and very well-coached. So we just gotta show up and play."

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Jack Ankony
JACK ANKONY

Jack Ankony has covered college football, college basketball and Major League Baseball since joining "On SI" in 2022. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism.

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