{"id":739979,"date":"2026-05-21T07:12:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T07:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/739979\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T07:12:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T07:12:17","slug":"illinois-basketball-news-the-savage-way-fighting-illini-cooked-opposition-by-roasting-james-harden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/739979\/","title":{"rendered":"Illinois basketball news: The savage way Fighting Illini cooked opposition by roasting James Harden"},"content":{"rendered":"

Illinois men’s basketball had quite the season. They went 28-9 and made it all the way to the Final Four<\/a>. It turns out they had quite a way of overcoming opponents, which got them pretty far.<\/p>\n

Their offense, led by assistant coach\/offensive coordinator Tyler Underwood, gave their poor defensive opponents an intriguing nickname<\/a>, per Kyle Tucker of 24\/7 Sports. They called them \u201cBeards\u201d in homage to none other than James Harden<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It was a playful recognition of Harden’s distinct facial hair.<\/p>\n

A reminder that Tyler Underwood\u2019s historically efficient offense at Illinois this season ID\u2019d and attacked bad-defender matchups by labeling the bad defenders \u201cBeards\u201d in (dis)honor of Harden. https:\/\/t.co\/ymiwANfPbU<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Kyle Tucker (@KyleTuckerCBB) May 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Expand Tweet<\/p>\n

The Illinois offense has been one of the most efficient in the nation<\/a> under the leadership of head coach Brad Underwood. This year, they posted a rating of 125.0 and averaged over 83 points per game. They shot 46.3% from the field and 35.0% from the 3-point line.<\/p>\n

Freshman David Mirkovic averaged 13.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Guard Andrej Stojakovic averaged 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds while also shooting 50% from the field. Tomislav Ivisic dominated inside, averaging 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He also shot 48.3% from the field.<\/p>\n

Keaton Wagler averaged 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game as a freshman. He also shot 44.5% from the field and 39.7% from the 3-point line. He declared for the NBA Draft<\/a> following the Final Four.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, James Harden is in the midst of the Eastern Conference Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> against the New York Knicks. On Tuesday, he was partly to blame for them losing Game 1 115-104, ironically, because of his poor defensive performance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Knicks head coach Mike Brown made it a strategic point to go after Harden.<\/p>\n

If anything, Harden gave Illinois more ammunition for the future.<\/p>\n

Illinois men’s basketball had quite the season. They went 28-9 and made it all the way to the Final Four. It turns out they had quite a way of overcoming opponents, which got them pretty far. Their offense, led by assistant coach\/offensive coordinator Tyler Underwood, gave their poor defensive opponents an intriguing nickname, per Kyle Tucker of 24\/7 Sports.<\/p>\n