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

March 18, 2022

Brad Underwood

Kofi Cockburn

Coleman Hawkins

Alfonso Plummer

PPG Paints Arena

Illinois Fighting Illini

Media Conference

Illinois - 54, Chattanooga - 53

MODERATOR: We'll start with an opening statement from head coach and then questions can be asked of student-athletes. We'll dismiss the student-athletes and give questions to Coach Underwood. Opening statement from Coach Underwood.

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Survive and advance. That's pretty much the theme of that game. A lot of credit to Lamont and his team. They didn't win 27 games for a reason. They're very good.

I thought the -- no doubt who through the first punch or the first three punches was them. They just knocked us right in the mouth the first six minutes of the game and took it to us, kicked our butt. They were much more ready to play than we were in terms of an energy standpoint and execution standpoint.

Once we got through that we settled in, turned that 12-point deficit into at least a working margin. But Fons got hot in the second half. Their defense doesn't give up a lot of threes.

We found a few looks. Our offense was anemic. We were rushed. We didn't execute anything. In the first half, when we did, we got good looks, but it was a night that 3 for 17 from the three, I hope those don't come along very often. That's not us.

But, again, give them a lot of credit. Coleman made a huge defensive play at the end of the game. And the thing that I like the most is this group stayed connected and stayed together even when things were not going our way.

So we live to play another day. We'll have to enjoy this one, learn from it, and we definitely gotta start games better than we started tonight. And we got to have a different attitude when the tip jumps, or we'll be in trouble.

MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes.

Q. Kofi, what do you think led to the slow start? And what do you think allowed you guys to have a chance in the final minute?

KOFI COCKBURN: I'm not entirely sure what led to the slow start. I think we had great energy. We had connectivity in practicing before. We had energy before the game. So I'm not really sure what led to that.

But I think what allowed us to pick it up was connectivity. We were really together. We kept elevating each other, picking each other up. Whenever Coleman would make a bad play, I would make a bad play, we would pick each other up.

So I think that's the main reason why we got it going in the end. We trust each other, and we basically use that trust to build chemistry and play harder.

Q. Fons, in the second half, looked like you turned it on, kind of lifted up this team offensively. What was different for you coming out of the break?

ALFONSO PLUMMER: I feel the same, I'm just playing with confidence. Always working out on my shots. I feel like every time I shoot, I feel like it's gonna go in.

So I just play with confidence. And I was ready for my moment, and it came.

Q. Coleman, that block at the end, your season has been a whirlwind with everything you've had happen in terms of not playing much. Is that one of the biggest plays of your career playing basketball ever?

COLEMAN HAWKINS: Probably not. I can't really think of probably the best play I've ever had in my career, but I think it was just, you know, being locked in, really. I think that was, you know, in my opinion, just like another play for me.

Monte got screened, we called a switch. I had a guard on me, he tried to float it up. And I blocked shot, bothered him with my length. And I think I've been doing that all season. So it's kind of just another play for me.

Q. Alfonso, you talked about being ready for the moment of your first tournament game. What were the emotions in that, and did it live up to what you would thought in your mind going into it?

ALFONSO PLUMMER: I feel like I was working out with T.A. a lot of days before the tournament. So I feel like I was ready for the moment, but I feel like the energy was bad in the beginning. That's like you can see. But the next game we just gotta pick it up in the beginning, I feel it's going to be way better.

Q. Kofi, their coach said they were going to use 15 fouls of their bigs on you. You drew 11 fouls, according to the box score. How frustrating was it for you to be able to get post touches, knowing they were going to be as physical with you as possible?

KOFI COCKBURN: It wasn't frustrating. I've been going through that all year. Probably all my whole career. I think it was just another challenge. This is the NCAA Tournament, and things get tough. Coach reminds us things get tougher each week, each game.

So just gotta be prepared for that and stay mentally locked in, don't allow myself to be a weakness to the team. Just keep my head up and keep trying to win.

Q. Kofi, the last possession for the Mocs, they got a couple looks, what are you feeling? Take me through the emotion of that final possession, knowing what's on the line, and then when the horn goes off and you know you guys do advance?

KOFI COCKBURN: Just a lot of fire. Remembering last year it was Loyola and just remembering how that felt, like saying to myself we can't let it happen again, can't let it happen again.

Just like I said, it was a fight, a lot of emotions. I was all over the place in that one. I was like we gotta lock in. I was eager to get a rebound or whatever play it was to be made. So just really locked in and focused.

MODERATOR: Thank you, gentlemen. Appreciate it. Questions for Coach Underwood please raise your hand.

Q. Brad, piggybacking off that last question, you walked off the court, what were your emotions when the buzzer goes off, you walk off the court and you did survive and advance?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: It's relief. It's relief. I told Lamont they played better than us. And we just happened to have more points than them at the end, and we led at the right time.

But it's also encouraging, and very encouraging to be very honest, to know that, let's see, Trent Frazier is 0 for 6, Curbelo is 1 of 7, Da'Monte was 1 of 3, and Plummer was 5 of 12. And to know that we're really good shooting team, and you guys all sat there and watched us shoot yesterday, you know we're a really good shooting team, and we had a bad day, Kofi is 50 percent from the free throw line, and we found a way to win. We held them to 20 second half points.

So you're relieved. You're encouraged. And, again, I've been in this thing enough to know it's literally just every game is gonna be close, and there's very few blowouts, and it's survive and advance. And literally you take them any way you can get them.

Q. Coach, as you were struggling in the first half, I think it was the first time all season none of the freshmen got minutes. Was that because of the moment, or did you think about putting them in in that situation?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: You know, I thought that the timeouts were -- are five minutes, or whatever they are, they're long, and you stay pretty fresh. And once we got through the first six minutes of the game, I really liked what we were doing defensively. And I was worried about us ever getting a rebound, but I thought defensively we were excellent.

And, again, we were very worried about Baptiste, and he's 2 for 11. Malachi is 4 of 20. Man, I'll take that every night. Our defense was good. So it's no knock against them, I think it was just kind of the way the game went. They may play a bunch in the next one.

Q. Coach, when you fell behind, you started putting out a little bit of pressure. Was that to try to speed them up a little bit, and do you think it changed the game at all for you?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Yeah, I thought it just got them out of sorts, got them uncomfortable, extended the floor a little bit. We almost had a turnover in the first half, we got one in the second half.

Just a little change of pace. It was just a curve ball. And it helped us. Got us going. And I thought it provided a little spark in the in both halves.

Q. Coach, as far as the game goes, how do you help the players wipe that from their memory, knowing that you do have a game in two days and they need to stay mentally focused?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: It's what we do. That's why you play the regular season, you forget the next one. You can't let one loss turn into a second, and you can't get too high after a win.

Again, we can enjoy this moment, and we won a NCAA Tournament game and a game that we didn't play great, and yet let's go figure it out tomorrow and figure out who we play here in a little bit and know it's going to be a good team no matter what.

Q. Don't take your first lead until 47 seconds left in the game. You mentioned how connected the team stayed. What's it about this group that they may be weathered 39-plus minutes before they could do that?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: It's the Big Ten. We play in the Big Ten. We play in so many two-possession games. And look at Trent's night, and he has two big free throws. Plummer just gives us a lift. Kofi's putback. It's just little things.

And we just kind of hung in there, and it's like I -- I've tried to build this thing around the fact that when you have nights like this in the NCAA Tournament, and you don't shoot the ball well, and we shot 34 percent, when you don't shoot, how do you advance?

Tonight we found a way to do that. And that's what this thing is truly all about, is being able to guard, being tough enough, being able to make play and make a stop when you have to to win a game in the NCAA Tournament.

Q. How does this team now respond? Like how do you get them reset for a second round game? How do you see them responding to this?

BRAD UNDERWOOD: We'll go. There's no doubt we better go. We're one of 32 still playing, and believe me, this team -- kids have really short memories, and that's one of the great things about them. In five minutes they're going to be on social media reading everything that you guys say about them, and so it will be -- they will be fine.

And we'll prepare and put a game plan together and start watching film after tonight's game and get them refocused pretty quickly.

MODERATOR: Thanks, Coach.

BRAD UNDERWOOD: Thank you.