Brad Underwood fighting tears after Final Four loss makes things even more heartbreaking

Having your heart broken always brings emotions to the forefront of your mind, no matter how strongly you try to hold them back.

That much is undeniably true when you have your phenomenal season ended in the Final Four, which is what happened to the Illinois Fighting Illini and head coach Brad Underwood last night.

For the first time in Underwood's head-coaching career and for the first time in over two decades for Illinois, the team was in the Final Four, but the Illini simply couldn't maintain pace with the seemingly unstoppable UConn Huskies.

After the loss, players, coaches, and fans were all understandably emotional, including Underwood, who even tried to fight off tears when talking about his team.

"I can hardly talk, it stinks. Please don't ever judge me for wins and losses, that's not who I am as a coach. Relationships? You want it for them," Underwood said while choking up. "I'll leave it at that."

Brad Underwood does what he does for the players

Of course, Underwood isn't stranger to the spotlight or even the NCAA Tournament, but this was the first time he was able to lead a team to the Final Four; the biggest stage in college basketball.

"It hurt losing in the Elite Eight two years ago; this is worse," Underwood said. "It's an incredible spot to be in because of the people... This run has brought people that are important to me back into my life for the relationships that I had."

Throughout Illinois' run through the Big Dance, Underwood has praised everyone around, from his wife to the players to his assistants and beyond. All of that gratitude continued to pour out of him, despite the fact that he said he was "speaking selfishly," even after the loss.

"To see the Orange and Blue out, I can't thank them enough," Underwood continued as he held back tears. "I hope this team created memories that last a lifetime for a lot of people, no matter what age... They did for me."

You could not ask for a coach who cares more about a team, his players, the fans, and your program than Underwood does, and he proved it in that moment. Surrounded by cameras and members of the press, he was just hopeful that everyone got as much out of this season as he did.

Underwood and the Fighting Illini finished their run with an incredible 28-9 overall record, the program's first return to the Final Four since 2005, and memories to last a lifetime.