Brad Underwood holds back tears after Illinois' championship dreams crumble in Final Four
Illinois shot just 33.9% and missed multiple point‑blank attempts in a 71–62 loss to UConn, ending a historic season in the Final Four.
Brad Underwood holds back tears after Illinois' championship dreams crumble in Final Four originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Illinois coach Brad Underwood didn't sugarcoat it.
He didn't try to spin it. He didn't pretend the pain wasn't real. "I'm sad," Underwood told reporters in Indianapolis.
"Endings stink. " Illinois' 71-62 loss to UConn wasn't about effort. It wasn't about toughness.
It wasn't about preparation. It was about the one thing Underwood couldn't coach into existence on Saturday night: the ball going through the net. Illinois shot 19-for-56.