‘Frustrated’ Illinois MBB coach Brad Underwood storms out of presser after Wisconsin loss originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Illinois Fighting Illini fell to No. 8 in the most recent AP Poll that was released Monday. Unfortunately, Tuesday night’s 92-90 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers in Champaign saw them drop back-to-back games for the first time this season after holding a double-digit lead, 71-59, with 8:11 left in regulation.
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Despite the home loss, which now sees the Illini (20-5, 11-3 Big Ten) staring at the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines (22-1, 12-1 Big Ten) for conference championship positioning, Underwood was pleased with the way his team has responded without guard Andrej Stojaković (ankle sprain) and guard Kylan Boswell (fractured hand).
“Really proud of our guys,” Underwood told reporters. “Tough one to lose. Really off script for us with 13 turnovers, most we’ve had in league play. Then just a very poor night on the offensive glass. Very seldom do you shoot 53 percent and lose.”
Even though Illinois struggled down the stretch to close out a Badgers (17-7, 9-4 Big Ten) team that had split their previous four games, Underwood took issue with the way guard Keaton Wagler has been dealt with by the officiating crew in recent weeks.
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“I’m done,” Underwood said of the officiating inconsistencies. “I’m frustrated as heck. I’m very frustrated. Because it changes so much from game to game.”
Specifically, Underwood noted a 10-second call and an “egregious” out-of-bounds play that set the tone in overtime. This ticked off Underwood to the point where, out of anger and disappointment, he took no more questions and aggressively walked off the podium to exit the State Farm Center media room.
“We had a guy [ref] tonight we haven’t had in two years,” Underwood said, without calling the official out by name. “In two years…do a league game.”
Wagler led all Illinois scorers with 34 points, while forward David Mirković (12 points) and center Tomislav Ivišić (19 points) complemented a balanced scoring attack for much of the evening. Forward Jake Davis, whom the Orange Krush student section proudly supported in wig form, added 11 points.
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Wisconsin guards John Blackwell and Nate Boyd combined for 49 points in the win, which was its first road triumph against Illinois in seven seasons.
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“What a heck of a college basketball game between two really, really good teams,” Badgers coach Greg Gard said. “I thought we executed as well as we wanted to. They were able to hit some tough shots at times. I can’t say enough about the job our guys did just to battle back when we got down.”
For Illinois, though, it’s onto the next game as it welcomes the Indiana Hoosiers (17-8, 8-6 Big Ten) into Champaign Sunday afternoon (1 p.m. ET, CBS). The Badgers, meanwhile, host No. 10 Michigan State (20-4, 10-3 Big Ten) Friday evening (8 p.m. ET, Fox).
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“There’s no reason for negativity now,” Ivišić said sitting alongside Wagler. “We got a lot of games left. We’re in a good spot. We can’t be affected by this. We need to be ready. We’ll get some guys back and go with the mentality to win. Losing is not an option.”
Now, the Illini will have to respond once again to avoid a downward spiral.
