Underwood on NCAA tourney: 'Show everybody what we're capable of'

Mar. 12—CHAMPAIGN — Coleman Hawkins can be excused for his first reaction to hearing Illinois would play Arkansas in the first round of the NCAA tournament was disappointment.

Mainly because the game would be at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, and not at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif.

Hawkins is from Sacramento. A trip home would have been nice for the Illini men's basketball forward.

Even thought it would have meant a cross-country trip for the Illini program.

"Sorry, but it's been a while; I haven't been home in a couple months," Hawkins said before pivoting. "I was just happy to see us up there. I know the guys were super excited. We've had some guys a part of this thing and some guys who have no clue what's next, what's coming."

Hawkins does. The 6-foot-10, 225-pound forward has been a part of Illinois' last two NCAA tournament teams. Transfers Terrence Shannon Jr. and Matthew Mayer have that experience, too. More of it, actually, with Shannon reaching a Sweet 16 with Texas Tech in 2022 and Mayer winning a national championship with Baylor in 2021.

How to approach the NCAA tournament is a message those Illinois veterans have already started to share with their younger, less experienced teammates before the ninth-seeded Illini (20-12) tangle with eighth-seeded Arkansas (20-13) at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in Des Moines, a West Regional first-round game.

"I just learned that everything counts down to every minute detail," Hawkins said of his previous experience, which included him providing a key last-second block against Chattanooga to secure the Illini's 54-53 win in the first round of the 2022 NCAA tournament. "Anything can matter. It's a different outcome than everyone always expects. You've just got to go out, play hard — play as hard as you can — and just be the best version of yourself that night and focus on that game and not get ahead of yourself.

"I think sometimes during the season, you kind of get stuck going through the motions, but you can't do that now that you're here. Everything matters. It's getting the message across we've got to go as hard as we can every single day and not take the opportunity for granted."

Shannon is all about treating it like any other game to keep the pressure off.

Even if that's difficult to avoid before the Illini depart on Tuesday for their stay in Des Moines this week.

"We don't want to make it too complicated for ourselves because it's March Madness," Shannon said, while adding adherence to the game plan was the best place to start. "It just means more because if you lose, you actually go home for good. ... I feel like we've got a lot to prove. Even when we got our name called, Jay Wright said he had Arkansas over us. There's already a chip we've got on our shoulder proving to people we belong here."

The NCAA tournament could almost be viewed as a fresh start for Illinois to cap what's been a roller coaster of a regular season and early exit in the Big Ten tournament.

Illini coach Brad Underwood, who is trying to get his program past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005, made sure to point out that North Carolina was remembered last season for its run to the title game and not it's so-so regular season.

"It's a season of growth," Underwood said. "It's a season of opportunity. It's a season of speed bumps — good things, bad things — yet there was a lot more good because we're in this thing again. We get to go play another game to show everybody what we're capable of and what we can be."

Underwood wants his team to do that by having fun and embracing the moment. To not play tense. To not let previous tournament disappointments matter.

"You've got to enjoy this," Underwood said. "We've got guys that understand the abruptness of the end. I've used that term a lot. You just go home if you don't play well. There's nothing to lose, so you need to go have fun and play hard. There's no pressure on us. We just need to go let our hair down, so to speak, and go play like we're capable."