Two more things: First, he knew Tennessee coach Rick Barnes. who led his teams to 17 consecutive NCAA Tournaments across stints at Clemson and Texas, and for whom Underwood had a front-row seat while serving on the Kansas State staff from to 2007-2012. And the other thing?

What Illinois coach Brad Underwood said after his team’s 66-64 loss to No. 1 Tennessee at the buzzer Saturday at State Farm Center in Champaign: Opening Statement “Really high-level basketball game. They’re number one for a reason,

Illinois is back in the win column after a Braggin' Rights contest that went down to the final seconds. Approximately 1 million taxpayers will automatically receive special payments of up to $1,400 from the IRS in the coming weeks.