VCU was a scary team, but the Illinois basketball program was up for the challenge on Saturday night.
The Illini took on a Rams program that had just beaten blue blood, North Carolina. They had so much confidence and momentum heading into the game, but thankfully, Illinois was able to evaporate any of the good mojo VCU had going.
After the 76-55 win over the Rams, Brad Underwood took to the mic for his postgame press conference.
Here are the five interesting Brad Underwood quotes from the Illinois basketball presser vs VCU
- “I felt very bad that the Lewis kid (Nyk Lewis) got hurt very early. He is a terrific player, and I would be remised if I didn’t mention him as an outstanding player he is.”
Illinois had a huge win, and it was aided by the fact that VCU lost one of their starters less than two minutes into the game.
Nyk Lewis exited with what looked to be a leg injury. This was brutal for the Rams, but at the end of the day, I am not sure it actually affected the game that much. It was nice of Underwood to mention the kid in the postgame press conference, though.
- “We had a plan that every time he (Terrence Hill Jr.) screened, we wanted to show on those screens to disrupt the ball handler. That is something we haven’t done a ton.”
There was one main target for the Illini on Saturday night, and it was clearly Terrence Hill Jr. He went off against North Carolina, and Illinois couldn’t let him get going.
I love that we came in with a game plan to shut him down. If Hill can’t get going, the Rams will likely struggle. Underwood talked about the Illinois strategy against their big-time scorer, and it worked. Hill finished the game with 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the floor and 3-of-9 from three-point range.
- “We did a really good job of not putting them on the foul line. We talked a lot about that. We are one of the best teams in the country in not fouling. They didn’t shoot a free throw in the first half. They shot six for the game, and I think 23% of their points come from the foul line.”
Underwood is right when talking about Illinois’ great ability to not foul in games. We only allow 12.5 free throw attempts per game, which ranks No. 1 in the country.
Meanwhile, VCU averaged 24.6 free throw attempts per game. Something had to give, and it was Illinois that answered the call. We didn’t allow VCU to shoot a single free throw in the first half, which is incredible. The Illini's discipline on defense was what really helped us win this game.
- “Drej (Andrej Stojakovic) has just found a niche. I am so comfortable with him knowing we have got one of our best offensive players coming in off the bench. He proved again tonight defensively, he is good on that end as well.”
Illinois had to have a huge game from someone, and Andrej Stojakovic stepped up in a big way. I didn’t see this massive game coming from him, but he put the program on his back.
Underwood talks about the transition that Stojakovic has had over the last month or so. He went from being a starter to a sixth man. What is crazy is that he has embraced that role and has excelled. His unselfishness has made this team even better.
- “It is a well-round group, and I have known that. It is just nice to start seeing it.”
I feel like I have touched on this quite a bit this season. Illinois is a great team with a ton of talent, but that talent doesn’t show up every game.
Underwood nails it right on the head when he says that it is just nice to start seeing it. Illinois has the ability to go deep in the NCAA tournament, but the talent has to show up every night. It did in a big way on Saturday against VCU.