The Wisconsin Badgers pulled off a remarkable upset of the No. 8 Illinois Fighting Illini. Once again, coming back from a 12-digit deficit to overcome the Illini on the road. It's the second time this season that Wisconsin has knocked off a team inside the top-5 in the NET on the road. The first time was No. 1 Michigan in Ann Arbor. After the game, one coach celebrated with a wig, the other whined about why his team lost.
Illinois' head coach Brad Underwood had multiple excuses for his team after the game for why his team lost, and it came across even to Illinois fans as whiny. The game was in hand for the Illini, and sure, injuries and officials play a role, but if you are a top-5 team, you gotta overcome both, and could have against Wisconsin, but didn't.
Brad Underwood: We played pretty good tonight with six dudes. We're the only team in the country that's played 11 games in 32 days. This sounds like an excuse, maybe it is, but we we're logging a lot of minutes. #Illini #B1G
— Scott Richey (@srrichey) February 11, 2026
Underwood complained of injuries and officials after the game, falling on deaf ears
Related: The win probability chart shows exactly when Wisconsin broke Illinois’ heart
He wanted everyone to know that he decided to only play six guys and do it on short rest. The Illini were without Andrej Stojakovic due to an ankle injury; he was listed as questionable, but was unable to go when testing it before the game. Illinois has also been down Kylan Boswell for a few games, and he was listed as "OUT" before the game even started.
Underwood went with just a six-man rotation as he clearly doesn't trust anyone else on the bench. After the game, he complained about all that and then even the schedule, how he's had to play "11 games in 32 days." I don't know, Underwood, if your team is so good, you can't let excuses like this hold you down.
Brad Underwood was HEATED about officiating postgame 👀
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 11, 2026
"It's egregious. I don't know what to do with it... I'm frustrated as heck. It changes SO much game-to-game. We had a (ref) tonight we haven't had in two years. Two years."pic.twitter.com/lCuIxVHDWe
He also complained about the officiating, which the Big Ten has some roughly officiated games. This wasn't one of them. It wasn't perfect, and compared to how the Wisconsin vs. Indiana game was officiated, it was far better. Yes, this sounds very homerish to say, but the Indiana game was bad the whole way through for both teams; it just compiled on Wisconsin at the end.
For Wisconsin and Illinois, it was at the normal level of Big Ten officiating, rough, but it is what it is. The officials didn't cost you the game, Underwood. Your team missing free throws, letting Wisconsin get 14 offensive boards, and playing a lazy offense around Keaton Wagler is what cost you. Stop complaining; your team is a top-10 team, act like it.