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Illini basketball players reflect on the season and more after falling in the Final Four to UConn
Illinois basketball fell in the Final Four to UConn 71-62. Andrej Stojakovic, Kylan Boswell and David Mirkovic all reflected on the season and more after the game.
INDIANAPOLIS - Brad Underwood stood in front of the banners of his own players hanging in the tunnels of Lucas Oil Stadium.
He talked about pain. As much as questions tried to field both sides of the story, where Illinois will hang a Final Four banner and carved out a fanbase in the Balkans, it provided no reprieve for the coach who won’t coach the players on the banners behind him.
"It doesn't feel very good at the moment," Underwood said. "I think we're a national championship caliber team. We didn't have a very good day."
Perspective was tough to find in the Illinois basketball locker room.
It will come eventually. With time, the right thoughts will land. But, the Illini were strewn about their locker room after a 71-62 loss to UConn in the Final Four that was closer than it looked.
Underwood said this loss was worse than the Elite Eight loss to UConn two years ago. Every player said the one lingering emotion was just the sadness that remained. That's because they lost in one of the most frustrating ways.
The rolls just didn’t drop. The tears are, though.
Big picture view:
There’s no real basketball term for not getting rolls, but it was equitable with just a shrug by the Illini players.
That’s the other side of basketball, and it’s downright unfair at times.
"We had layups that just circle the toilet bowl, popped out," Illinois assistant coach Orlando Antigua said. "Theirs hit every part of the rim, the backboard and jumbotron and went in. That's the beauty of this tournament."
Beauty for UConn was a beast for Illinois. The Illini played better in the second half by far. They defended well, went on a massive run while limiting the Huskies’ offense on the other end. It was hard work, but Illinois is used to that.
The team defense improved by leaps and bounds in just a matter of a few games.
Even down double-digits, the Illini found ways to cut that to single digits. UConn's lead was eight, then six, then four. Then, the Huskies got a roll their way.
It hurts the most how that all fell short. Even if a banner will go up, this team won’t have a chance to play with each other again. That team will help each other, but the 2025-2026 Illini won’t play one more time. That stings more than not getting a shot at a national championship.
"The love that we have for one another makes it just not sting as much and how much work we all put in together," Illinois guard Kylan Boswell said. "It just sucks when you come up short like that and how we fought today too."
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Underwood struggled to keep his composure after the game. When asked how this team impacted him, he began to cry.
This was his magnum opus, and it was over in a flash.
"Please don't ever judge me for wins and losses. That's not who I am as a coach," Underwood said. "Relationships. You want it for them."
What's next:
How does Illinois get back? It’s easier said than done.
"You just gotta go find Keaton," Underwood said on his All-American guard. "You gotta go find Mirk (David Mirkovic)."
These two freshmen powered the postseason success, while the veterans found ways to close out the game. It was a one-two-punch that led Illinois to the Final Four.
It’s going to be hard to replace.
Who knows if Wagler will declare for the NBA Draft. He most likely will after his play this season earned him a spot in the NBA Draft lottery. That’s a far cry from where he was as an underrated recruit.
To return to the Final Four is a completely different beast. Winning it is another.
That’s a conversation for another day, though. Illinois will have the transfer portal opening soon. There will be ways to build the 2026-2027 roster.
But the future seems so far away when the present hurts as much as it does.
"I'm gonna miss all these guys," Boswell said. "But, you know, in 15, 20 years, whatever, we can always speak on this moment and remember all the good times we had together."
The good times were a Final Four that dispelled predetermined fates of the team and the predetermined notion of a coach that was assumed couldn’t cut it in March.
The Illini will be remembered for ever, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now.
"They deserve their place in the history books here," Underwood said. "They're part of the Final Four."