‘I dreamt about doing it at Illinois’: Final Four dreams come true for Illini coach

The Illinois Fighting Illini dominated the second half Saturday to win the Elite Eight battle against Iowa in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

That put No. 3 seed Illinois in the Final Four for the first time since 2005. The Illini and No. 9 seed Iowa had a lot to talk about after the game. The Illini will face Duke or UConn in the Final Four.

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What Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said

• Undergrowth: “They threw the first punch. They bloodied us. Their physicality was rated very highly. I thought after the first five minutes we settled in, even though we missed a few shots. And then I thought our physicality and our scoring at the start of the second half was really, really good. Then we kind of did what we did, just finding one or two offensive pushes, and Tommy (Tomislav Ivisic) had a few post-ups back-to-back games that gave us a “We had more than one possession lead, and then we got stops. They came out blazing, shooting 57 percent in the first half, and then I think they made six field goals in the second half, and only one 2.”

• Underwood, on freshman Keaton Wagler: “Yeah, we knew Keaton was going to be good from the start. We had a scrimmage with Florida that was very physical, very competitive, and at times he was the best player on the field. That shocked me. Then the way you handle a little adversity, then the way you handle crowds…nothing fazed him. And then once we got past the UConn game, we put him on the ball a lot, and we said ‘We Let’s rock with this kid, and we’ll do it.’ live and die. “

• Underwood, on his basketball journey: “One of the most rewarding moments I experienced personally was standing on the ladder with the net and then seeing our fans and being able to – it wasn’t about me. It was about our fans, and that was probably what’s happening in Champaign right now, because that’s what you think it is, and you know it.”

• Underwood, on reaching the Final Four: “I’m going to get emotional, but I’ve been doing this for 39 years, and you dream about it as a kid, and I dreamed about doing it in Illinois. Back when my wife bought Tyler, who was maybe 2 years old, a Brian Cook jersey, and you knew what a special place it was. And it always was, and there was nothing else for me. It’s my dream job, and it’s very rewarding to get where we’re going.”

• Underwood, on his first takes with freshman Keaton Wagler: “Did I know a 178-pound kid was going to be like that? I didn’t know that. To be the South Region MVP and an All-American is, you know, I’d be lying. I’m proud of him…”

• Underwood, on the celebration and his team’s return to work: “Tomorrow. Tomorrow. And I think the one thing that – you can never not celebrate a win. We work hard. And these guys work all year – and it doesn’t matter, the regular season games, you can ask any of them, we’re going to have some kind of celebration after a win. We understand that we have to win one more game twice to get to where we want to go. That’s all we’re talking about is winning a national championship.”

• Underwood, reflecting on his journey: “Here I am, a former JUCO Ball coach from Kansas going to the Final Four with a group of guys that I love. I couldn’t be more proud. You’re only as good as the people around you. I’m lucky at home, I was blessed to be surrounded by great mentors, great coaches…I just bided my time, found a magical group, we’re living the dream.”

What Iowa head coach Ben McCollum said

• McCollum, on the result: “If you ask these guys, I think they probably wish they had a second chance to be able to win this game because they probably still feel like they could have. But they laid a foundation for the University of Iowa and hopefully for the future.”

What the Iowa and Illinois players said

• Big man Tomislav Ivisic to Illinois’ advantage: “I thought we were dominant on the glass from the first minute, even early in the game. I would say they started the game better, but the rebounds kept us in the game. We scored 40 points in the paint to 12.”

• Andrej Stojakovic on reaching the Final Four: “I mean, it’s awesome. From the moment we stepped on campus, we kind of had an idea of how talented we were, but it seems surreal to be in that moment. I wouldn’t have it any other way with these guys right next to me. I think the last thing I’ll say is I don’t want anyone to think that’s it. Like, we’re not — we didn’t get to the Final Four just to get there. We just to win two more games and we’ll take one game at some point so, yeah.”

• Keaton Wagler, on reaching the Final Four: “It’s what kids dream of. I know I dreamed of it as a kid, going to the Final Four, competing for a national championship. To be able to do it with the people around me, you know, the teammates, the coaches, the fans, the managers, everyone, it means a lot. We got here, but we’re not done yet.”

• Stojakovic, coming off the bench: “I’ve constantly told the media. For me, whether it’s 35 minutes, 20 minutes, I’m supposed to play those minutes as hard as I can, and my teammates expect the same from me and vice versa. So I’m just happy that we’ve kind of found some momentum moving forward and we’re just going to keep going.”

• Iowa star Bennett Stirtz: “I gave it my all in that Hawkeyes uniform. I hope they continue to be successful, that’s what I want for them. I gave it my all, we all gave it our all and it was a fun ride.”

More: Illinois beats Iowa to advance to Final Four for first time since 2005

More: ‘Winning is fun’ for Illinois basketball and its fans on social media

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star’s senior writer and sports columnist, covering Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and the Chiefs. He writes the sports column Cleve In The Eve for pjstar.com. He can be contacted at deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Illinois basketball coach gets emotional after reaching Final Four