Charles Barkley’s bold Illinois/UConn Final Four prediction will have Illini fans oozing confidence

It can’t be a comfortable feeling for Brad Underwood to be making his Final Four debut against a two-time national champion like Dan Hurley, who is 17-1 across the last four NCAA Tournaments. However, Charles Barkley is unfazed by Underwood’s lack of experience, and his bold pre-game prediction should have Illinois fans feeling confident heading into tip-off on Saturday night in Indianapolis. 

Barkley didn’t hold back his love for Illinois in their matchup with the Huskies, telling the pregame panel on TNT, “I love Illinois in this game. I think their size is going to bother Connecticut, and I'll be honest with you, I don't think it's going to be a close game. I think Illinois is going to beat them pretty good.”

Charles Barkley predicts a blowout win for Illinois over UConn

Host Ernie Johnson expected Barkley's love for Illinois, the biggest team in college basketball with multiple seven-footers to throw at UConn's dominant big, Tarris Reed Jr. He had his longtime colleague nailed as Barkley explained his belief in the Illini.

"You saw the flaws. Reed is going to be a problem, but I think that size is going to really bother him because the way Connecticut plays, they play inside out, but Illinois does not have to double him. They can throw all those big bodies at him and wear him out, in my opinion."

Reed has been dominant throughout the NCAA Tournament. He began March Madness with 31 points and 27 rebounds in the Huskies' first-round win over Furman, and followed it up with 26 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks against Duke on Sunday in the Elite Eight.

In the regular season meeting back on November 28, a 74-61 UConn win, Reed was far from 100 percent and scored just two points in 15 minutes while going 0-3 from the field. It's hard to take anything from that matchup, but Reed's lack of success against Illinois's massive front court with Tomislav Ivisic, his twin brother Zvonimir, David Mirkovic, and Ben Humrichous.

The Illini have been carried by their highly-efficient offense for much of the season, but a late-season defensive improvement has carried them to the Final Four. They'll need to stay locked in on that end of the floor against Reed and the rest of the Huskies to make Barkley's bold prediction come true.