Brad Underwood: “We never came close to our ceiling”: Brad Underwood gets 100% real about Illinois’ disappointing season

Brad Underwood is opening up about Illinois' season. The Fighting Illini coach reflected on his team's shortcomings in an episode of "The Field of 68: After Dark" on Tuesday.

"We never came close to our ceiling, and that was frustrating," Underwood said. "That was disappointing."

Underwood went on to discuss how injuries impacted his team this season.

"We had a five week stretch where we had Tomislav [Ivisic] on the court for three practices, and that was right after our Seattle, Eugene trip in early January and then Morez Johnson went down with a broken wrist," Underwood added.

Despite the injuries, Underwood's players were dedicated to the game.

"All of these guys love to play. ... I was so in tune with this group because of their commitment, their dedication and just their love of practicing," Underwood said. "[The season] was frustrating but the simplicity of going to practice every day no matter who we had or didn't have was really fun."

Although he said practicing with the previous season's squad was fun, Underwood reflected on one moment that wasn't so enjoyable.

"It was not very fun sitting in Madison Square Garden that night against Duke," Underwood said.

The Fighting Illini faced off against the Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 22. Cooper Flagg's Duke squad dominated Illinois 110-67 to hand Underwood's team its worst loss in history.

Illinois' season was far from perfect, and Underwood seems to recognize what went right versus what went wrong for the Fighting Illini.

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament First Round Practice-Milwaukee - Source: Imagn

Brad Underwood's Illinois squad's 2024-25 season

After making an Elite Eight appearance in 2024, things were looking good for Brad Underwood's Illinois squad heading into the 2024-25 season. However, the Fighting Illini wouldn't live up to expectations.

Illinois went 7-3 in its first 10 contests and struggled to settle into a rhythm when Big Ten play began. Heading into February, Underwood's squad was 14-7, including 6-5 in conference. The Fighting Illini had lost three of its last four matchups, all against unranked opponents. Despite this, the team came in at No. 23 in the Week 13 AP Poll, released on Feb. 3.

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Underwood's team continued to have an up-and-down season and fell to Maryland in its second Big Ten Tournament game to enter March Madness 21-12, including 12-8 in the conference. Illinois entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed and defeated No. 11 Xavier to advance to the Round of 32. No. 3 Kentucky ended the Fighting Illini's season in the second round.

Underwood's squad will aim to bounce back after a disappointing 2024-25 campaign.

About the author

Lindsey Ware is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over five years of experience working with publications such as The News & Observer, The Daily Tar Heel, Triangle Tribune and Cardiac Cane. She has also worked for Major League Baseball, The Holly Springs Salamanders, The Tri-City Chili Peppers, Tuffy Talk, Super Meteors Basketball, Just Good Network and Living Sport.

Lindsey has a Bachelor’s Degree in Media and Journalism from UNC Chapel Hill. Her education allowed Lindsey to gain experience in sports communication, which she honed in internships. Other than being a storyteller and sports fanatic, Lindsey is also a social media and marketing specialist.

Her favorite college team is UNC, although she grew up a N.C. State fan as both of her parents are Wolfpack alumni. Michael Jordan was a huge deal in North Carolina when Lindsey was growing up, and after a summer spent at UNC’s Sports Journalism Camp back in high school, Lindsey was set on being a Tar Heel.

Lindsey's favorite college coach of all time is Roy Williams. During her time attending UNC Chapel Hill and writing for The Daily Tar Heel, Lindsey was lucky enough to meet and speak with Williams a few times. He was like a celebrity on UNC’s campus and was beloved for his coaching style and success with the Tar Heels, accumulating three NCAA championship titles in 18 years.

When not watching or writing about sports, Lindsey enjoys reading, trying new restaurants and coffee shops, and spending time with my friends, family and dog. She also likes to journal, watch movies and paint.

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Edited by Kim Daniel Rubinos