On Tuesday, Feb. 18, 11th-ranked Wisconsin defeated Illinois 95-74. But after the game, Illini head coach Brad Underwood walked up to Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard and told him that the teams wouldn’t shake hands. The reason? His squad was sick.
Illinois Doesn’t Shake Hands with Wisconsin After Loss Due To Team Illness
“End of the day, guys, we don’t have many healthy bodies,” Underwood said during the postgame press conference. “That’s why we didn’t shake hands with them after the game. They don’t need this.”
According to Underwood, sophomore forwards Tomislav Ivisic and Jake Davis were the most affected by illness during the game.
Ivisic couldn’t even join the team on the initial trip and drove up to Madison to try and play. And while the Croatian did suit up, he was unable to start for the first time this season. He finished with seven points and three rebounds in 20 minutes.
“Tomislav lost seven pounds,” Underwood said. “He took two and a half IVs before he came up, just to try to hydrate.”
Davis was able to start, but he got sick before the game and only played a measly eight minutes. With six points and a rebound, he exited the game and did not return. Underwood revealed that the Mercer transfer didn’t come out with the team for the second half because he was in the restroom.
Ben Kenney from the Badger Wire wrote, “[Underwood’s] team-wide illness is best not spread through the rest of the conference.”
Typically, when handshake lines turn into headlines, it’s usually because of fights, verbal barbs, or the teams’ general distaste for one another. Earlier this month, Arizona and Arizona State didn’t shake hands because of late-game skirmishes. ASU head coach Bobby Hurley pulled his team from the bench with 30 seconds remaining to prevent any further hostilities.
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However, in a unique situation in Madison, coach Underwood saw that his team was ailing and calmly explained to coach Gard that the handshake line would not happen after their game.
Illinois still has four games left on its schedule, including a tilt with No. 3 Duke at Madison Square Garden this weekend. When a reporter asked how the team can get healthy before their trip to New York, Underwood explained that the team could only do so much.
“I don’t have the answer,” he said with an exasperated look on his face. “We’ll do everything we can possibly do with our staff. That’s why I didn’t want to shake hands with Greg (Gard) and his group. They need to stay as far away from this nonsense as they can.”
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