Illinois basketball allowed Alabama A&M to keep things a little too close in Saturday night’s 68-47 win over the Bulldogs. At one point, Alabama A&M was within 3 with 12 minutes left, blitzing to a 14-0 run to start the 2nd half.
But Matthew Mayer and Texas Tech transfer Terrence Shannon were too much for the Bulldogs in the end. Mayer finished with 21 while Shannon finished with 18 on the night, securing the win in the process.
But despite the 20-point win, Mayer was frustrated postgame. He admitted that the players and coaches had a lot to figure out ahead of the Illini’s next game against Missouri.
#illini Matthew Mayer: “We got a lot to figure out internally between the players and coaches.”
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) December 18, 2022
Head coach Brad Underwood was asked about Mayer’s comments shortly after he gave the above statement. He noted that he and the Baylor transfer still have not gotten a lot of time to learn about each other.
#illini Brad Underwood said he and Mayer are still learning each other, Underwood finding what buttons to push but Mayer has to adjust to him too.
“Matt is a wonderful, wonderful kid, and he has a great heart.”
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) December 18, 2022
However, Underwood also disagrees with Mayer. He doesn’t think there are any internal issues that need to be addressed between the coaching staff and players.
#illini Brad Underwood: Disagrees with Mayer about internal issues.
“Not every player is like. I think there are challenges he has to work through being some place different. Personally, I like what I saw [from him today].”
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) December 18, 2022
