Brad Underwood had conversation with B1G office over officiating
Brad Underwood has taken up his frustration with B1G officiating with the league office. The Illinois head coach said he spoke with the conference following the Fighting Illini’s loss to Ohio State earlier this week.
Speaking with reporters on Saturday, Underwood said he contacted the conference about officiating from Thursday night’s game. He didn’t get into specifics, saying he’d “leave the conversation between me and the league office.”
Underwood was ejected in the second half of Thursday’s game after receiving two technical fouls. The Illinois head coach said he was trying to earn the first technical but that he didn’t deserve the second.
#Illini Underwood said he talked to the Big Ten office about the officiating on Thursday night. Said he'd leave the conversation between him & the league office.
— Derek Piper (@DPiper247) February 26, 2022
While Underwood’s fiery exit seemed to provide a spark, it wasn’t enough for Illinois. The Fighting Illini fell 86-83at home, now sitting 1 game back of first place in the B1G regular season standings.
Thursday night marked the first time Underwood has been ejected while serving as the head coach at Illinois. It’s not something he’ll likely make a habit of, but he certainly got fed up with some of the calls (or non-calls) in this particular contest.
Officiating in the B1G has been a major topic of conversation this season. We’ll see if any changes are address in the offseason.