COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Brad Underwood coaches Illinois to blowout win over Lindenwood

Nov. 28—CHAMPAIGN — Illinois coach Brad Underwood will use every opportunity to make his Fighting Illini basketball team better, including 33-point blowout win over Lindenwood.

That was never more evident than with just over five minutes left in Friday's 92-59 victory at State Farm Center.

Freshman guard Jayden Epps, who came off the bench to score 12 points, committed one of his three turnovers leading to a basket for the Lions.

During the next dead ball timeout, Underwood replaced Epps with starter Skyy Clark so that he could get his coaching message across to his 6-foot-2 freshman guard from Norfolk, Va.

"I'm not the best coach in the world in 30-point games. I want them to do it right," Underwood said. "I wanted him to learn. I wanted him to know that my expectations for him are very, very high. Sometimes when you are one of the smaller guys on the floor, you have to be one of the toughest and I didn't think that was a real tough play that he made.

"Coaching moments are nice to do when you are up 30-plus."

Sophomore R.J. Melendez, who had a career-high 17 points for the Illini, admitted it was something new for him when he joined the Illini program last season.

"He is trying to figure out if you are mentally strong enough to handle the pressure (in a Big Ten-type game)," said Melendez. "Do you have the mental strength to execute at that moment? He is going to push you. He knows your limits, so he is going to keep going at you.

"From high school, you don't get that type of a pressure from a coach. It's kind of a new thing for you ... Coming in. I had a lot of strength in my mind and all that. he for sure helped me out in tougher games to be mentally tough and don't make simple mistakes like that."

Underwood admitted that his coaching style is to prepare them for pivotal conference games and postseason play.

"They all know that my expectations for them are so high," he said. "It's easier to do it in a big win. Am I going to coach him like that in the UCLA game? No.

"They know I love them. They know I'm pushing them. They know what the deal is. And yet, I need to find out."

And when it comes to Epps?

"I told (assistant coach) Chester (Frazier) this, 'he needs to be tougher, he needs to be tougher, he needs to be tougher,'" Underwood said. "He can't let the crowds on the road rattle him. He can't let someone else talking to him rattle him. And, Jayden Epps is pretty darn tough.

"He knows that I didn't like that play. I told him after the game, my expectation for him is to be outstanding on every play, not just the ones that you want to be, but on every play."

While Epps got an earful during the game, it was Melendez that got a 1-on-1 meeting with Underwood during the week leading up the Lindenwood game.

"It was really good to see RJ get going. He and I had a meeting and he responded in a really good way," Underwood said. "He just buckled down and worked. I thought he was a aggressive but didn't force things."

Melendez eclipsed his career-high of 13 with 15 first-half points and he also grabbed four rebounds — all defensive, which is what Underwood really wanted to see.

"We just can't have zero rebounds from him on the defensive side. When last year, we played 7 minutes a game and he got five," said the coach as Melendez had just one rebound in games against UCLA and Virginia in Las Vega. "To me, it was about sticking your nose in — not being afraid to get bloodied up ... just being a participant in the game, so to speak. He handled it like a true champion."

Melendez and Epps were two of four players for Illinois (5-1) to score in double figures in the win over Lindenwood (3-5). Joining them were Skyy Clark with a career-best 19 and Terrence Shannon Jr. contributed 16.

Even Clark got a little extra coaching during Friday's game leading to a second-half dunk that capped the Illini 13-2 run.

"That was a get back at coach Underwood," Clark said. "In first half, I had missed the layup when i got fouled and he told me to just dunk it. So, I had no choice but to do that."

According to Clark is those little coaching moments that will prepare Illinois for big games like the one against Syracuse in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

"It's only going to make us a lot better," he said. "I feel by the end of the year, this team is going to be really good."

Illinois will get its second chance at a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference tonight when the 16th-rated Fighting Illini host the Orange (3-3). Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at the State Farm Center. The game will be shown on ESPN and it can be heard on the Illini Sports Network including Danville stations WDAN-1490 and WDNL-FM 102.1