WASHINGTON — Georgetown coach Ed Cooley admitted he made a mistake when he made a disparaging comment about Illinois after his team beat Saint Francis at home earlier Saturday.

Cooley used colorful language to bash Illinois when talking about junior guard Jayden Eppswho played his first season there.

“His defensive development, it’s almost like he’s a new player,” Cooley said of Epps after the Hoyas’ 82-65 victory.

He then made the comment about Illinois, without naming the school.

“I’m pretty sure it will make national news when I say that, but I never said what school it was,” he said.

Shortly after, he took to social media and admitted he was wrong.

“My comment today was said in jest with one of my players, but I admit it was a poor choice of words,” Cooley wrote. “I have the utmost respect for the University of Illinois, its men’s basketball program, its coaches and its players.”

Illini coach Brad Underwood, when asked about Cooley’s remarks, said he was more focused on upcoming opponents.

“It’s not even worth wasting my time,” Underwood said. “I don’t know what he was referring to, and Jayden had a productive first year here. But I’m not going to get into all that. I’m going to let our fans and everyone have fun, which I’m sure they probably are.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.