Brad Underwood spoke to the Illinois basketball media ahead of a Monday evening tilt against Minnesota as the Orange and Blue look to keep their winning streak alive.
Underwood was in a good mood ahead of the Martin Luther King Jr. matchup between the Illini and Minnesota, as Illinois will look to continue their mid-season resurgence before the end of January and beginning of February roll around.
In the interview, Underwood revealed some good news regarding the latest on Luke Goode’s foot injury, as he has not seen the court since last spring. At press time, Goode will practice with the team shortly, although Underwood did not say precisely when that would happen, thus affecting his return to play.
"“It’s just a progression back to practice now, Underwood said Sunday. “So, he’s (doing well). I actually watched him run sprints yesterday. You know, he’ll start very shortly here with some light individual workouts on the court and then working his way back to a full practice and then kind of fit him in, so the progression has been positive.”"
On the theme of positivity, Underwood notices a difference in his team’s chemistry since dropping the first three league games, with the most recent loss being a 13-point road tilt against Northwestern where the team looked out of sorts for almost the entire second half. The Illini have remained nearly unstoppable in Champaign, as they defeated Michigan State 75-66 Friday night to improve to 9-1 at home.
"“The challenge (of staying ready) has been that we’ve had a lot of the late games (so far this season),” Underwood said. “You know, it’s a short, abrupt, more mental day yesterday in terms of preparation. We moved very quickly from (Michigan State) and moved right o to (Minnesota). After every game, we try to find one or two things to clean up and then we work on it or talk about it.”"
The quick turnaround continues for the Illinois basketball program.
After the Illini leave Williams Arena Monday night, the team will have 72 hours to rest before welcoming long-time foe Indiana Thursday night, as the pair last played in the State Farm Center in March 2020.
Illinois will look to remain in the Big Ten regular season title race moving forward, as a four-game winning streak could be what the Orange and Blue needed to get back on track.
Monday night’s game will tip-off at 5 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network, as the Gophers will look to win back-to-back league games.