Illinois basketball coach Brad Underwood watched Saturday night as his team took the worst loss in program history. The Fighting Illini got shellacked by the Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden.

Cooper Flagg has certainly lived up to the hype. So it seems a foregone conclusion the freshman phenom from Duke will become the top pick in this year’s NBA draft. Illinois coach Brad Underwood has a different idea.

Cooper Flagg has certainly lived up to the hype. So it seems a foregone conclusion the freshman phenom from Duke will become the top pick in this year’s NBA Draft. Illinois coach Brad Underwood has a different idea.

Cooper Flagg has certainly lived up to the hype. So it seems a foregone conclusion the freshman phenom from Duke will become the top pick in this year's NBA draft. Illinois coach Brad Underwood has a different idea.

Cooper Flagg has certainly lived up to the hype. So it seems a foregone conclusion the freshman phenom from Duke will become the top pick in this year’s NBA draft. Illinois coach Brad Underwood has a different idea.

Cooper Flagg has certainly lived up to the hype. So it seems a foregone conclusion the freshman phenom from Duke will become the top pick in this year’s NBA draft. Illinois coach Brad Underwood has a different idea.

But after Illinois was dragged through the mud by No. 3 Duke on Saturday in New York, tagged with the worst loss in program history in a 110-67 blowout, the question was posed to Illini coach Brad Underwood in the postgame press conference: Is this team tough enough?

Illinois was humming along as one of the country's better college basketball teams. Then the 3-point shots stopped falling.

The ACC is down and few teams have offered Duke a challenge this season. But hammering Illinois, 110-67, at Madison Square Garden certainly helped the Blue Devils’ case.