(670 The Score) Fourth-seeded Illinois is a solid favorite against 13th-seeded Chattanooga in their first-round matchup Friday. Still, the Mocs won 27 games this season, cruising into the Southern Conference final last week. A one-point win against Furman in the championship game secured an NCAA Tournament berth for Chattanooga. Speaking with the Mully & Haugh Show on Monday morning, Illini coach Brad Underwood explained what makes the Mocs such a dangerous first-round matchup.
"They're good," Underwood said. "They're well-coached and they're very good. They've got great size. They've got a young man, a transfer from Kansas, Silvio De Sousa in the middle. They've got a guard who's actually from Illinois, from Belleville, who I saw play a lot in high school that leads them in scoring in Malachi Smith. This is a team that plays extremely hard. This is a team that knows how to win. They win close games. They've been winning close games ... This team is from a great conference. They won both the regular and tournament championships, so they know what they're doing."
You can listen to Underwood's entire interview in the embedded player below.