“Analytics play a big part of what we do.”
That’s Brad Underwood talking, all the way back at his introductory press conference four years ago. Underwood laid out his vision for Illinois Basketball at that press conference. Illinois Basketball would be tough. It would play up-tempo. It would have a winning culture. We’ve seen Underwood’s vision come to fruition before our eyes during his time in Champaign. But an oft-overlooked part of that vision was to embrace analytics, and analytics are a big reason Illinois is contending for a national championship.
Analytics is a dirty word for a lot of basketball fans.