Illinois' Brad Underwood frustrated after upset loss to Nebraska
01/31/2025 04:15 PM
Brad Underwood was not happy with how the Illinois men’s basketball team lost in a stunning 80-74 overtime upset to the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Thursday night.
Efficiency was an issue for the No. 18 Fighting Illini on offense. Despite beating the Cornhuskers on the glass 55-38, they were unable to convert on most of their shots with accuracies of 36% from the field and 24% from beyond the arc.
Nebraska had more stops on defense, recording three more steals and blocks than the visiting team. With this playing a major factor down the stretch, Underwood expressed his frustrations about the loss following the game.
“It is frustrating for me because I know where we can be and what we were getting to. Tonight is frustrating for me because of the mental lapses that we had that we haven’t been making,” Underwood said.
What’s next for Brad Underwood, Illinois
It was a disappointing loss for Brad Underwood and the No. 18 Fighting Illini, knowing they are capable of beating teams ranked in the AP Top 25.
They have ranked victories over Wisconsin and Oregon, showing they can compete with Tennessee and Michigan State as well. For them to then lose to Nebraska shows they have their work cut out for them.
The loss had them fall to a 14-7 overall record, having won six of their first 11 games of conference play. They are putting up 85.2 points on 44.1% shooting from the field and 31.4% from beyond the arc, beating teams by a margin of 15.2 points per game.
Kasparas Jakucionis stands out as the leading scorer, averaging 16 points to go with 5.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per contest. Tomislav Ivisic comes next with 13 points and 8.5 rebounds, Kylan Boswell puts up 12 points and 5.4 rebounds, while Will Riley provides 10.4 points and 3.6 rebounds from the bench.
The Fighting Illini will look to return to the win column in their next two matchups against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET and Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
The post Illinois’ Brad Underwood frustrated after upset loss to Nebraska appeared first on ClutchPoints.
