On Friday morning, a watchlist of 15 coaches was announced for the Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year. A part of this list was none other than Underwood himself.
Underwood wasn’t the only Big Ten coach to don this prestigious list. He was joined by Penn State head coach Patrick Chambers and Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell. Both of these coaches have done a marvelous job this season as well.
Let’s take a look at why Underwood should be the coach of the year, though.
Last season, Illinois only managed to put together 12 total wins.