NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - DREXEL VS ILLINOIS

March 19, 2021

Brad Underwood

Illinois Fighting Illini

Indiana Farmers Coliseum

Postgame Media Conference

Illinois 78, Drexel 49

BRAD UNDERWOOD: I thought it was a very matter-of-fact game. Congratulations to Drexel. Great, great season. They're really hard to guard. I thought our guys' focus on that end of the court was very, very good. I thought we did a great job on Wynter, taking him out of his comfort zone. Trent has a tendency to do that to people.

We got out in transition there in the first half. I thought we played with a little bit of a nervous energy early, and just kind of rushed a little bit on the offensive end, then we got going in transition and broke the game open.

But they stayed in it in the first half with offensive rebounding. The Butler kid with four offensive rebounds. Then we started settling in and limiting them to one shot, got out running. That was something I thought we to exploit in this game.

Overall loved our balance. Ayo 17-11-6. Had four guys in double, a couple guys were very, very close. Loving the balance we're playing with right now.

THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions.

Q. What does it mean, you guys are back in the tournament for the first time since 2013, you were expected to win, but to start off with a win, get that monkey off the back?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Yeah, there's no doubt. I think that's one of the things we've been striving for all year. This was a goal. I think it's really important that people understand that the Kipper Nichol, Andres Feliz, they didn't get to play in this last year, and they were a big part of our rebuild. Guys, every kid dreams about playing in the NCAA tournament. They do that since they're five years old.

When these guys stepped out here, sure there was a little anxiety, a little nervousness. It's nice to get back to where I think we belong, and that's in the NCAA tournament. We did that in a very matter-of-fact way today.

Q. I think in the last media timeout of the first half, went on a run, didn't lose that momentum after halftime. How important was that to keep building on what you got started there?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: One of the things we talked about at halftime, we ended up very well, then we had to keep the pedal down. This is a team that really gets going from three. They're an excellent three-point shooting team. We couldn't make mistakes. We felt like if we took the three away from them, we could make it very difficult. We come out right away, we get a steal, easy basket, we're off and running.

It was very important, those first four minutes.

Q. You mentioned Wynter, his importance to their offense. Seemed like you had your bigs show help when he got deep, did a good job on the perimeter. How did they work in tandem to really bottle him up?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Trent gets a lot of the credit because he's very difficult to screen. It's equally Kofi and Giorgi doing their job in terms of having a very, very early presence, and an effective one. Kofi is an imposing figure when he's got his hands out. He's big. He can deter people from turning that corner. That's all Trent needs, just a split second, to get back in front.

I thought we did a great job. They ended up taking him off the ball a lot, which I had not seen, and playing Bell primarily on the ball. Again, it was something that we felt like we had to cut the head of the snake off to be really good today, and Trent did that.

Q. It seems like obviously Ayo and Kofi having a big game, but role players being able to step up like Jake, Da'Monte. How important is it to have them on both ends down the stretch?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Yeah, you've got to pick your poison with us. You can't just load up on Ayo, on Kofi, say we're going to double-team him or we're going to do this. Those guys are very, very capable scorers. Da'Monte is one of the leading three-point shooters in America. Jake is such an explosive offensive player in his own right. You throw Adam and Trent, all of a sudden it becomes a pretty balanced attack. That's what we like to see.

Q. You've mentioned a couple times the phrase 'matter of fact' of the way you guys won today, the team. I'm just wondering, it seems like they've been this way, but the mindset of the team right now, everybody kind of knowing their jobs, how important is that?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Yeah, I think the one thing that we've talked about in the last few days is you can't get to two without one in terms of victories. If you're not dialed in and you're not on point with your execution, with your game plan, you go home.

We've had that mindset here in the last three weeks to a month. It's been good for us. It has to continue. They only get harder from here.

Q. How well do you feel like your team is equipped to play again in 48 hours here, regardless of who you play? With the schedule you played this season, how much will that allow you to have success?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Yeah, we've definitely been tested that way, there's no doubt. I think the last two and a half, three weeks of the season seemed like every other day, rapid fire games. Obviously just three games in three days in the Big Ten tournament.

The thing that you have to handle in those moments is the mental part of it. You got to switch gears really quick. We've been pretty solid with that.

Q. You've been in a lot of NCAA tournaments. The atmosphere was one of the stranger ones because it didn't feel like an NCAA tournament. What did you observe? You are happy there is a tournament, but did it feel a little odd?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Yeah, I think you're used to running out for the most part to packed houses. Obviously that's different. I think we're grateful the fact that there are fans here. We had a lot of them here today.

But it's a little different feel. Once the game -- the ball is thrown up, the game is the game, and it is different that way. But I'm just ecstatic that we're playing. Our players are ecstatic we're playing. There's going to be a champion.

Dan Gavitt, his crew, this thing has been incredible to this point. They deserve a tremendous amount of applause, in my opinion, for the job they've done.

Q. You mentioned in your opening statement the offensive balance you had. You had that against Ohio State last Sunday as well. The ball moving to everybody at this stage of the season.

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Yeah, we're sharing it. I think we're much better in our ball screen reads. I think we've been dialed in in terms of what the opponent is trying to do against us, what they're trying to take away. We know where those looks are.

I think guys are showing the ability to make those right plays and right reads. When you do that, you share the ball. The game on the offensive side becomes fun, there's a reason you can shoot. What did we shoot, 57, 58% today.

It's fun to see.

Q. How odd is it with rotating venues not knowing where you're going, when you are going to play and what time? Do you have any idea when you'll find that out?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: No idea when we'll find out. That doesn't matter. We'll go play at the park, as long as we're playing for something. This is the NCAA tournament, we're going to show up. But it doesn't matter. We knew this was coming. We've been prepared for this.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, thanks for your time.

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Thank you.