Illinois Basketball: Brad Underwood is failing to build Success Equity

The Illinois basketball team dropped the annual Braggin’ Rights game against Missouri on Saturday afternoon.

This was an ugly loss not only because it was our biggest rivalry game of the season, but it also gave the Illini their third loss in the last five games. We now sit at 8-4 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten.

I hear some fans saying they aren’t done with Brad Underwood. That they have faith in what is going on with the program. I don’t have an opinion on that right this moment. But I also see some fans coming at other fans who are upset with Underwood. Why would any fan be upset with Underwood? I think the simple answer is a thing called Success Equity.

What is Success Equity you may ask? Success Equity is the ability to build up enough wins to cushion a bad loss. It is the ability to win consistently enough to where when the bad loss occurs, fans won’t bite your head off or turn on you.

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The first season with Underwood leading the way was the 2017-18 campaign. Illinois beats Missouri 70-64 to move to 9-5 on the season. The Illini then takes down Grand Canyon to finish off the non-conference slate. Entering the regular Big Ten schedule, Illinois was 10-5 overall. Winning those two games created some Success Equity. But any semblance of Success Equity that was built was eliminated by a six-game losing streak that followed.

Last season, we got to see some serious Success Equity built up. Illinois was having a horrific season with a record of 5-14 at one time. We then beat No. 13 Maryland and No. 9 Michigan State in what ended up being five wins in a six-game stretch. Everything the fanbase was feeling before this stretch had dissipated. The Success Equity Underwood achieved during this stretch got the coaching staff back to even in terms of Success Equity. But as soon as they got back to level, Illinois dropped six out of their final eight games.

And now we enter the current campaign. Underwood and the Illinois coaching staff had to prove to this Illinois fanbase they are the right coaches for the job. A 6-1 start helps. Considering there weren’t too many good wins in there, this did build up some Success Equity. Back-to-back losses to Miami and No. 3 Maryland erased some of that, but they were close losses and the fanbase wasn’t too disappointed.

The victory over No. 5 Michigan was a big one for the coaching staff’s Success Equity. This enabled the fanbase to have more faith in what was happening. We saw this team beat a good team early in the season when it mattered. But, like all of the seasons in the past, that Success Equity was quickly drained.

Illinois dropping the Braggin’ Rights game to Missouri was so disheartening. We had more talent and a better record, but that wasn’t enough to knock off the Tigers. The way the game played out disappointed me more than the actual result. We just didn’t seem like we were into the game whatsoever. There was no fire with this team. This was not a game we were supposed to lose. All of that Success Equity that was starting to be built up has now dissipated.

Next. 3 observations from the Illini loss to Missouri. dark

This coaching staff will never be able to get on track if we keep dropping games we are supposed to win. They had the ability, for a moment, to build some type of Success Equity. But, clearly, it is not sustainable. Success Equity is the name of the game and, right now, this coaching staff doesn’t have any built up.

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