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The Illinois Fighting Illini basketball team went viral Saturday night and it had nothing to do with the players.
Coach Brad Underwood received all the love when he posed for a photo on social media with a few of his players in a cold tub. Yep, a shirtless coach just chilling with his team in, of all places, an ice bath after they defeated Nebraska in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament.
"I didn't know I looked that good with my shirt off," Underwood said a day later after clinching the championship versus Nebraska. "I actually cold tub every day. We're fortunate we've got one in our practice facility. I'm a big fan."
Even Coach needed the cold tub after that one #Illini | #HTTO | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/umcFEcluh8
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) March 17, 2024
If anything, the photo shows how cool and calm Underwood and his No. 3-seeded team are entering the NCAA Tournament this week. They open in the first round Thursday against No. 14 Morehead State in the East Region in Omaha.
"A few of the guys called me out the first day and had to go in and really show them that even though I'm a little older than them, I'm still pretty tough. None of them can go dunk all the way under and hold their breath for 10 seconds while I can so I had to show them the old man has a little toughness to them."
If the Illini can remain calm long enough, they just may make it out of the opening weekend for the first time under Underwood.
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Illini Now. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com
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