Illinois coach Brad Underwood had several topics to address when he met with the media on Wednesday afternoon.

The Illini are getting ready for a first-round matchup vs. Drexel, which will tip off at 1:15 p.m. ET on Friday.

Underwood made a point to not underestimate the 16-seeded Dragons.

“Drexel knows how to win, they’ve won four in a row,” Underwood said. “They won their conference tournament … They other thing is they want it just as bad as we do.”

Drexel is on a hot streak at the moment, having won the CAA Tournament as a 6-seed. The Dragons have won five of their last six games and are 12-7 overall on the year.

While the work isn’t finished yet, Illinois did get a good bit of news on Wednesday: star guard Ayo Dosunmu was named National Player of the Year by USA Today. He beat out Luka Garza for the honor and the two are likely to be the leading vote-getters for the Naismith Trophy.

Underwood said he was able to tell the entire team — and Dosunmu — at the same time.

“It’s phenomenal,” Underwood said. “I couldn’t be happier. I told the team at practice. You love seeing good things happen to good people.

“You love seeing good things happen to good people. I live by the adage that good things happen to those who works hard. No one works harder than Ayo.”

Here’s a few other notes from Underwood’s media availability: