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Illinois basketball stormed through 2026 March Madness in surprise fashion. The Illini now has their fans envisioning a national title run on Saturday against UConn in the Final Four.
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Brad Underwood officially joins Bruce Weber as Illini coaches who guided a regional title run in the 2000s decade. Illinois had to overcome losing its top 10 ranking momentarily and facing a loaded Midwest regional before punching its Final Four ticket. That also included taking down last year’s title game runner-up Houston during the Sweet 16.
Underwood mentioned the “special” part involving him and Illinois after beating Iowa to seal their trip to Indianapolis.
“It’s always been a special place. There’s been no other thing for me. This is my dream job,” Underwood told reporters after cutting down the nets this past Saturday.
Clearly this run means everything to the 39-year coaching veteran Underwood. He envisioned this the moment the university tabbed him to lead the program back in 2017-18.
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His Illini are slight favorites to beat Connecticut by only 2.5-points per FanDuel Sportsbook. Here’s how they can exploit their weekend foe.
Illinois must counter UConn’s cross screens
Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
A big key here is watching where Tarris Reed Jr. is.
The center is UConn’s top scorer and will get his touches under the rim. And he opens a dangerous part of UConn’s offense without needing the basketball.
Head coach Dan Hurley turned to Reed as a screen option to create more spacing for the 3-point shooters.
Hurley’s cross screen approach swung the momentum back UConn’s way in the epic comeback over Duke. Underwood likely will address this Hurley tactic in practices this week. Fortunately for the Big Ten representative, Illinois presents plenty of bigs to counter Reed and company.
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Illini must take advantage of size
UConn arguably has the best scoring center in this matchup. Plus forward Alex Karaban adds a post scorer who can hit from deep too.
Except Illinois holds this reputation: Having the tallest and biggest team on the floor.
They must utilize that to its advantage. It starts with limiting Reed’s points or forcing him into foul trouble.
Next is neutralizing the 3-pointer. The Huskies buried Duke by dialing from long range. Underwood can send his centers Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic to counter UConn’s shooters plus his other bigs.
Where Illinois can bury UConn
Bench play rises as the final element Illinois must ignite to prevail in the early round of four contest.
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That’s where Andrej Stojakovic enters the picture.
His renown father made a living shooting the lights out as a perennial NBA All-Star for the Sacramento Kings. The younger Stojakovic has dad’s shooting touch for this contest. Except he’s more of a physical slasher to the basket. He can set the tone from the bench and keep UConn on its toes.
The reserves play a final role in putting this team back in the National Championship game for the first time in 21 years. A sea of orange likely will fill the arena at the home of the Colts. Illinois can treat Saturday like a home conference game and throttle the Huskies.
Related: Jay Bilas points to freshman inexperience in Duke’s collapse vs. UConn
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