WATCH: Brad Underwood blows up on sideline as Illinois struggles in first half vs Northwestern
It’s been an up and down year for Brad Underwood and Illinois as Big Ten play gets rolling. The Fighting Illini had another rough go in the first half of Wednesday’s showdown with in-state rival Northwestern, and Brad Underwood had seen enough.
Underwood blew up on the sideline late in the first half as Northwestern scored yet another bucket to eventually take a 31-27 lead into halftime. Illinois shot 46.2% from the field in the half, but was just 3-for-14 from three-point territory prior to the break. Northwestern actually had a lower shooting percentage in the first 20 minutes, but went 8-for-10 from the free throw line while Illinois didn’t attempt a free throw.
Big Ten Network cameras caught Underwood’s emphatic message to his team during a timeout.
The Fighting Illini didn’t register an offensive rebound in the first half and didn’t have a single player in double-digit scoring in that span. Chase Audige was doing work, as well, with 13 points in the half.
Underwood’s message must have gotten through, though, as Illinois opened up a 10-2 run to open the second half led by Matthew Mayer, who scored five of those points.
Illinois is still searching for its first Big Ten win of the year after falling to Maryland and Penn State earlier in the season. The latter loss was the subject of an all-time Underwood press conference rant when he called out his player’s leadership and — notably — made a fart noise when talking about the team.
Illinois brought a 9-4 record into Wednesday’s tilt against Northwestern, but is now three games removed from its most lopsided loss of the year. Missouri rolled past the Fighting Illini to a 93-71 victory in the annual “Braggin’ Rights” game late last month and they responded by cruising past Bethune-Cookman to close out the non-conference slate Dec. 29.