In 2017, Illinois basketball was in a dark place. Even after a 20-15 season, Illinois missed the NCAA tournament for the fourth consecutive year and fell in the National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals.
Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman had a big decision to make after firing then head coach John Groce.
Whitman’s coaching search led him to Stillwater, Oklahoma, and he chose Brad Underwood to lead the charge. In his lone season as head coach for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, Underwood led them to a 20-13 season, including an NCAA tournament appearance.
Rebuild for the ages
It took a couple of years for Underwood to get the ball rolling at Illinois. Once he did, it became a consistent force in the Big Ten. The Illini finished the 2019-20 campaign with a convincing 21-10 record. If not for the COVID-19 pandemic, the Illini likely would have gone back to the NCAA tournament.
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Since then, they’ve reached The Big Dance six years in a row and won 20 or more games in seven consecutive seasons. However, a trend emerged that fans quickly grew tired of.
The Illini consistently lost in the first weekend of the tournament each year. In 2021, Illinois earned a No. 1 seed, but lost to No. 8 Loyola-Chicago — a team which some people considered to be underseeded — in the second round.
The following season did not end much better, as No. 5 Houston ran away from No. 4 Illinois to end its run in round two for the second straight year. The 2022-23 Illini team also took a hasty exit, this time in the first round.
It wasn’t until 2024 that the Underwood-led Illini broke through and reached the Sweet 16, where they beat the No. 2 Iowa State Cyclones. However, they got their doors blown off by the No. 1 UConn Huskies in the Elite Eight.
After another second round exit in 2025, Illinois came right back in 2026 as a No. 3 seed. It had a lot to prove after going 4-5 down the stretch, including an early exit in the Big Ten tournament to Wisconsin.
Illinois rattled off four straight victories in the NCAA tournament, including blowout wins over No. 14 Penn and No. 11 VCU. The Illini then upset the No. 2 Houston Cougars, before getting over the Elite Eight hump, defeating the No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes, 71-59.
Just like that, Underwood brought Illinois from the bottom of the barrel to the Final Four in less than a decade.
Fans react
Throughout this season, some called for Underwood to be fired, claiming he didn’t have what it took to get over the hump. While his teams did fall short of expectations throughout his tenure, building a program into a perennial contender takes time.
Once Illinois fans got their chance to celebrate a Final Four trip for the first time in 21 years, their reactions were exuberant on social media. A lot of fans began laying off Underwood, with many congratulating him.
Hundreds of excited Illini fans showed up at Willard Airport to welcome the team home after their Elite Eight victory, and they cheered loudly as Underwood addressed them.
“I’m honored to be the basketball coach here,” Underwood said. “I’m the most blessed guy in the world that I get to coach basketball in front of a group of fans, like yourselves, who care.”
Just nine years ago, Underwood walked through those same doors to take the head coaching job at Illinois. He envisioned taking Illinois to this level right at that very moment, and he did just that this season. Fans are now celebrating his success like there is no tomorrow.
Is the pressure off?
In sports, there is always pressure to win, and it almost always falls on the head coach. When a team is not winning, it will fire that coach and find someone new to lead the way. Even though the Illini were not advancing far into March consistently, Whitman held out hope that Underwood would eventually take them there.
The pressure continued to mount on him this year, especially as the Illini lost a handful of close games down the stretch. Concerns rose about whether Illinois could hang around in March.
Now that Underwood brought the Illini to the sport’s largest stage for the first time since 2005, that pressure is finally off. A trip to the Final Four is monumental for the program. Not only does it put Illinois on the map, it further broadens the European pipeline that Underwood established over the past few seasons.
However, the new question is whether or not Underwood can continue bringing Illinois on deep tournament runs. Without the pressure of just having to get there, it may be just a matter of time before we see the Illini in another Final Four.
