Busting Brackets
Fansided

NCAA Basketball: Top 10 National Coach of the Year candidates for 2020-21

By Benjamin Zacher

COLLEGE PARK, MD - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Juwan Howard of the Michigan Wolverines watches the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center on December 31, 2020 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Juwan Howard of the Michigan Wolverines watches the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center on December 31, 2020 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 12
Next
NCAA Basketball Illinois Fighting Illini Brad Underwood Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
NCAA Basketball Illinois Fighting Illini Brad Underwood Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /

8. Brad Underwood (#5 Illinois)

  • 2020-21 record: 16-6 overall, 12-4 Big Ten

One of the most glaring omissions in the Naismith watchlist, Brad Underwood – fresh off of leading the Fighting Illini to their first 20-win season since 2013-14 – has turned Illinois into a national powerhouse this year, led by one of the scariest two-man tandems in all of college basketball.

After suffering his first two seasons with the Illini in the basement of the Big Ten, Underwood led Illinois to what would have been its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2012-13, and its first top-4 finish in the Big Ten since Bruce Weber’s second-from-last season in 2010-11.  Finishing last season’s campaign at 21-10 overall and 21st in the national polls, the Illini entered this year with a preseason ranking of 8th – their first top-ten spot in the poll since December 2012.

Illinois’ season has been a bit tumultuous, to say the least.  After winning their first two games by an average of 60.5 points, the Illini nearly fell to Ohio at home before dropping three of their next five games – to Baylor, Missouri, and Rutgers – while dismantling Duke and Minnesota in between.

That much has held true the rest of the way, although the Illini have been more dominant as of late.  After their loss at Rutgers, the Illini ripped off four-straight Big Ten wins before slipping in back-to-back games to Maryland and Ohio State.  Flirting with dropping out of the polls after falling as far as 22nd, Underwood’s squad rallied for seven-straight victories – including crucial wins over Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota – before most recently falling at Michigan State.

Illinois’ dominant romp through the Big Ten has earned the Illini their first top-5 ranking in the AP Poll since the program’s run to the national championship game in 2004-05, and that can assuredly be traced to Underwood’s trust in his guard/center tandem of Ayo Dosunmu – who has actually turned the once unanimous National Player of the Year race into a genuine argument – and Kofi Cockburn.

The pair are currently combining for 38.4 points, 16.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists – and that is not even mentioning the significance of players like Trent Frazier, Adam Miller, and Andre Curbelo, all of whom are averaging over seven points per game.  In turn, Underwood’s squad has maintained a top-15 defense and offense by way of efficiency, as well as ranking in the top 30 nationally in 3P% and 2P%.

The Illini are still fighting bouts of inconsistency, but it is impossible to ignore the job Underwood has done with the Illini – and anyone who has watched an Illinois game knows just how heated and in-the-moment Underwood can get, which only speaks to the level of commitment he has in winning.  That much has translated well, considering the Illini sit just one game back of the top spot in the Big Ten.

Home/NCAA Basketball News