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Watch: Illinois HC pokes fate as team unravels
Illinois HC Brad Underwood Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Illinois HC Brad Underwood pokes fate as team unravels

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Renzo Pocholo Salao  |  Last updated 3/30/24

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood on Saturday remained steadfast with his team’s strategy against UConn. Underwood’s game plan did not exactly work to perfection.

Illinois had their NCAA Tournament run cut short in the Elite Eight after a 77-52 blowout loss against UConn at TD Garden in Boston, Mass.

The Fighting Illini made it a point of emphasis throughout the contest to attack Huskies center Donovan Clingan in the paint. Illinois found little success challenging Clingan early in the first half, though, missing a handful of layups and seeing several shots swatted away.

Despite the team’s struggles at the rim, Underwood said in an in-game interview that Illinois would keep “going at” Clingan.

“We’re going to keep going at [Donovan Clingan]. If he blocks a hundred, he blocks a hundred," Underwood said. "We’re not backing down. We’re going to do what we do.”

Clingan did not block 100 shots. But with the way he protected the rim all game, it must have felt like 100 to the Fighting Illini faithful. The UConn center finished with five blocks to go along with his 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Illinois was outscored 52-20 in the paint in large part due to Clingan’s rim protection. The Illini shot just 17/67 (25.4%) from the field.

Perhaps Underwood opting for any sort of Plan B could have prevented the insane 30-0 UConn run had that buried Illinois.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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