Best of March Madness: Illinois advances to Sweet 16
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How did Illinois perform in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament?
Another second half domination from Illinois. And they get themselves right back to the Sweet 16. Illinois for the second time in three years is moving past the round of 32, this time with a 76-55 win over VCU.
Mully and Hall, 104-3 the score. We are delighted to welcome in our thanks to Westwood One for the highlight, but we're delighted to welcome in Brad Underwood, the head coach of Illinois basketball. Coach, good morning. How are you?
Thanks. Appreciate you having me on.
Well, we appreciate you putting on a show for us. It's been so much fun to see you guys get to the Sweet 16, and now you match up with a Houston team that's playing at home, for God's sake. But we've decided this is the best matchup of the Sweet 16. It should be a real cracker of a game.
Yeah, it should be. You've got two teams that... um you know they play great uh in their two tournament games and and uh as as we did and and uh you know a lot's going to be made about uh um them playing in houston and and i don't worry about that i think that uh you know you've got a you've got a win to advance and and uh um you know the illini nation shows up so so we'll be there and uh you know you've got to play well and uh And whatever team plays the best usually gets the opportunity to move on. And we're excited about the opportunity. And got a great foe, a team that was in the national championship game a year ago.
It would be hard for you to play better, it seems, than you did in the first two games against Penn and VCU, Coach. And congratulations. Those average margin of victory in those two victories, 28 points, I believe. And it looked like you were locked in from the get-go. I'm just curious, what was the biggest reason in your mind your team was as ready as it was?
Well, I think we've been talking a lot this year about the margins and about playing every play, and we weren't perfect in either one. We had some lapses. We had a 10-12 point lead in the first half, and they made a nice run, which VCU does, and good teams do, but we were uncharacteristic.
What insights does Coach Brad Underwood share about the team's success?
I think we had seven turnovers at half, and in the previous game, we turned the ball over three times, so So, you know, give the opponent some credit. But, you know, I think we're focused. We've talked a lot about playing every play as hard as we can. I think defensively we've been really solid in both games, and that'll have to continue.
Yeah, you guys are so big and so deep. I think that you must feel good about your numbers against anyone.
Yeah, and every opponent presents different problems and different challenges, and VCU is a terrific three-point shooting team and an explosive team in transition. I thought we did a nice job of contesting them at the rim, and then we challenged them on the perimeter and held them to a season-low 55 points, and I thought it started with our interior guys. I thought Thomas Law was very good, and and Ben Humerkowski coming off the bench defensively. You know, in a game when David Markovich played in some foul problems, you know, and Big Z presents a lot of problems at the rim. So I thought it started there, and then, you know, obviously Kylan and Andrei Stoyakovich and Keaton were rock solid on the perimeter.
Markovich might have struggled a little bit with foul trouble in the second game against VCU, but against Penn, he made history. He set an Illinois rebounding record in an NCAA tournament game with 17 boards, and he was just seemingly unstoppable. Coach, you have several guys who could carry you at any given point, and I think that's what makes your team as dangerous as it is, whether it's Merkovich or Wagler or anybody at any given time. That's got to give you some comfort that you are able to maybe, if there is a dry spell, somebody's going to step up, but it might be somebody different every time.
Yeah, and I think that's been one of our keys all season. And, you know, Andre comes in and has 16 and a half. You know, went on a personal 9-0 run. And, you know, I thought Tyler did a good job in putting him in positions to score, you know, right there at the end of the half.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
How did Illinois perform in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament?
0:03–2:31
2
What insights does Coach Brad Underwood share about the team's success?
2:31–5:40
3
What challenges does Illinois face against Houston in the Sweet 16?
5:40–10:13
4
How does Illinois' defensive strategy contribute to their success?
10:13–19:57
5
What factors led to Illinois' dominant victories over Penn and VCU?
19:57–21:27
6
How does Coach Underwood prepare his team for tough matchups?
21:27–23:23
7
What role do key players play in Illinois' tournament journey?
23:23–34:49
Speakers
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