PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Brad Underwood wants his team to have fun in the NCAA Tournament, he wants them to play without feeling any extra pressure or the weight of feeling like they need to make it to the Sweet 16 after the excruciating loss to Loyola-Chicago a year ago in the Round of 32.
Before the Illini’s 54-53 win over No. 13 seeded Chattanooga in the Round of 64, all Illinois’ players, coaches talked about was how they were approaching the Mocs with a loose attitude, trying to not play tight. But the Illini played “tentative” in the words of Underwood, and it was pretty clear during the game too.
All-American center Kofi Cockburn left shots short, Trent Frazier had his worst offensive game in an Illinois uniform failing to make any of his six shots from the field and Alfonso Plummer didn’t score until there was a minute left in the first half.
“I thought we played tentative,” Underwood said. “I thought we played not to make mistakes. You can’t do that. I don’t know if that was maybe pressure from last year’s early departure, I don’t know. It gets talked about a lot. Last year’s loss gets talked about. They’re human, they feel it.”
“When you’re playing the first game in a tournament that’s so important, a lot of times you get anxious,” Cockburn said. “You get nervous. It’s the reality. You have teams losing – you have higher seeds losing the whole week before and you see that happening. You’re definitely all over the place and your mind is everywhere. You’re really trying to get his one, and sometimes you’re not as composed as you should be.”
But for as much as the Illini would like to escape the rip-your-heart out loss to the Ramblers from a year ago, it’s becoming increasingly hard for that thought with media members – like myself – continuing to ask about the loss to Loyola-Chicago and the different approach the Illini have this year in their efforts to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005.
“If they didn’t have to listen to you guys, it would be great,” Underwood said on Saturday. “I think the one thing that’s out there is you want them to have fun, and you try to keep instilling that, and to go play loose, go play with your hair on fire and just cut loose.”
Pressure, though, only builds when you try to ignore it – or when you act like it doesn’t exist. Sunday’s game against No. 4 seeded Houston (30-5) presents two possibilities. One, is an opportunity to go to the Sweet 16 and the other is the chance that Frazier, Plummer, Cockburn, Jacob Grandison and Da’Monte Williams might never get the chance to put an Illini uniform on again if the Illini fall. That’s a grave possibility, and it’s hard to ignore the pressure that comes with that.
“All games don’t end the way you want it to end,” Williams said. “We had a little scare at the end (against Chattanooga), but fortunately we were on the other side of it and just live to fight another day.”
Going forward, Illinois obviously wants to play better than they did against the Mocs, and Cockburn says that they are “confident now” after seeing a game in the NCAA Tournament, and maybe it is a good thing to get that first game out of the way. Point guard Andre Curbelo was clear that the team enjoyed their win against Chattanooga – as the Illini should – but he also stressed that they are looking forward to the Illini’s next matchup.
“We got back to the hotel, off our feet, watched a little bit of the Houston game,” Curbelo said of the Illini’s post-Chattanooga activities. “Kind of stayed up, watched a little bit of the games, as well, with the managers and coaches in our meeting room, and we just got out of practice and now just preparing for our next game, next-game mentality.”
Illinois knows what’s at stake with a potential Sweet 16 berth on the line with the Cougars. A deep run in the NCAA Tournament is one of the reasons that Cockburn returned to Illinois for a junior season – and he was honest enough to say that the possibility of going to the Sweet 16 does change the perspective of the team before Sunday afternoon’s game.
“Last year, that’s definitely one of the main reasons it’s in my mind every year,” Cockburn said. “Last year, we had that same feeling after losing to Loyola. That was another opportunity to go to the Sweet 16.
“It’s reflecting on that feeling and not wanting to have that feeling ever again, especially for these guys, especially for the guys that’s not going to be here next year. Let’s send this off the right way. Let’s come out with a different approach, a different mentality, making sure that guys aren’t flat. That’s how we lost to Loyola, we were flat, we weren’t as aggressive.”
On Saturday at practice, Underwood did notice a little bit of a different vibe among his players at practice – but he struggled to find the right adjectives to describe the mood at the Illini’s afternoon practice.
“It was different today,” Underwood said. “I mean, I think it was – I don’t want to say relieved – but there was a sense of joy last night. I think we felt a little bit different today. I don’t know how to describe that. But, again, it was – it’s good to get that one by us.”
Illinois knows that the way they played on Friday isn’t close to their potential – and they are likely lucky to still be playing come Saturday afternoon. Part of Underwood wanting his team to be able to play, loose, free and to have fun is because it’s a “players game.”
“We’ve got good players,” Underwood said. “We need to be able to go out and show that off, and I thought we were tentative yesterday, and that’s not us. Again, no offense to Chattanooga, but we didn’t play the way we’re capable of playing – that’s for sure.”
