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Illinois has hired Brad Underwood to be its next men’s basketball coach.
Welcome Coach Brad Underwood! #WeWillWin #ILLINI pic.twitter.com/9yqLI0Ce1x
— Josh Whitman (@IlliniAD) March 18, 2017
Both ESPN and CBS reported the news about ten minutes before Illinois AD Josh Whitman confirmed it with the picture above.
Illinois has hired Oklahoma State’s Brad Underwood, sources told ESPN.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) March 18, 2017
Brad Underwood is leaving Oklahoma State to coach Illinois, a source told @CBSSports. Was vastly underpaid at OSU.
— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) March 18, 2017
Underwood coached Oklahoma State to a 20-13 record, including 9-9 in the Big 12, in his first—and now only—season in Stillwater. The Cowboys lost to Michigan in the first round on Friday. He brought a frenetic, up-tempo style from Stephen F. Austin, where he went 89-14 in three seasons. Most fans remember those SFA teams for knocking off West Virginia in a 14-over-3 upset in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Notably for Virginia fans, this takes one of the rumored destinations for Tony Bennett off the table. Indiana remains an elite program that may take a run at UVA’s coach. Bennett’s sister coached the Hoosiers’ women’s team from 2000 to 2005.