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Friday, March 21

Illinois hangs on against the Hilltoppers

By Greg Taylor

[MARCH 21, 2003]  Illinois won in the first round of the NCAA tourney for third straight time in the Bill Self era Thursday night with a hard-fought 65-60 victory over Western Kentucky. Neither team was ever able to put the other team away, and the game was a one-possession contest with under 30 seconds to go. Brian Cook led the way for the Illini (25-6) with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and the three freshman each played enormous roles in their first NCAA tournament games. Western jumped out to leads of 15-9, 17-12 and finally 22-14, and Illini Nation was pretty quiet in the partisan RCA Dome. However, Illinois responded with a beautiful 13-0 run and looked in control with a 27-22 lead with under three minutes to play in the half.

Several things went Western's way over the final three minutes, including two Illinois turnovers, poor boxing out by the Illini on defense and Brian Cook's second foul with 0.3 seconds left in the half. The score was 31-28 Illinois at the break, and few in the media or the stands felt like Illinois had played a great half. Nine first-half turnovers bore out this point, and coach Self could not have been pleased with the game. A.D. Ron Guenther, sitting just two seats away, definitely was concerned, and this LDN writer wondered if Illinois might have just 20 minutes left in their season.

The second half was equally close and exciting, as both teams jockeyed for control of the game. Cook picked up his third foul early in the half (18:34 mark) and was forced to sit for the next 6½ game minutes. During this period, the Hilltoppers caught Illinois and everyone in attendance knew the Illini were in for a dogfight. Illinois finally gained an eight-point lead late, 63-55, with just under three minutes remaining, but Western refused to quit.

[photo by Tom Seggelke]
Brian Cook and head coach Bill Self

 Cook was called for two really weak and questionable fouls in a span of two game seconds and fouled out, and after a 5-0 Western run to get to the game to one possession, panic was in the air. But, panic was not in the mind or heart of freshman Dee Brown, who calmly handled the ball and drained two pressure-packed free throws at the 22-second mark to seal the game for Illinois.

Illinois moves on to face Notre Dame in the second round Saturday here in Indy. The game is set for 12:10 p.m. Lincoln time and will be seen on CBS, unless war coverage interrupts the game, in which case ESPN will pick up the game.

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 Listed below are five reasons Illinois turned back the Toppers and lived to see another day:

1.  The freshmen played like veterans: How about 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Dee Brown in 38 minutes of action? Want more? How about James Augustine scoring 10 points and grabbing nine rebounds, including five huge offensive rebounds? Finally, the unsung hero had to be Deron Williams, who hit for 11 points, including 3-3 shooting in the shooting-unfriendly dome. Simply put, if the freshman play like freshman, Illinois is in class on Friday and I'm crying in my coffee.

2.  Brian Cook -- Despite some of the more ridiculous foul calls we've seen go Brian's way this season, Cook still recorded a double-double and was a very important 4-4 from the free-throw line in the second half.

3.  Illinois made their free throws, going 12-14 for the game, compared with an 8-13 showing by Western Kentucky. Cook and Brown each went 4-4.

4.  Illinois committed just five turnovers after the break and did a much better job using most of the shot clock during their possessions in the last 10 minutes. Self was very concerned with lack of execution in this area last weekend in wins over Indiana and Ohio State, and it is obvious his team learned and adjusted.

5.  Defense, defense, defense: Illinois held Western to just 12 points over the final 10 minutes of the game and came up huge on defense on several Western possessions late. Self prides himself in being a defensive team first, and Illinois was up to the challenge Thursday, especially late in the game.

Illinois moves on and the LDN moves on with it. Illinois can go to the Sweet Sixteen for the third straight year with a victory Saturday -- GO ILLINI!

[Greg Taylor]

NCAA first round

[MARCH 21, 2003]  INDIANAPOLIS -- Greg Taylor reports on NCAA games played Thursday in the RCA Dome:

Game 1

The Golden Eagles of Marquette survived another great first-round effort from Ralph Willard's Holy Cross squad and move to Saturday's second-round game with a 72-68 victory. The game looked early on like blow-out city, as the best team in the cheese state raced out to a 28-16 lead three minutes before halftime. However, the Crusaders closed the half on an 8-1 run to cut the Marquette halftime lead to five.

The second half started off all Holy Cross, as the 14th seed caught Marquette about halfway through the second frame and actually led on four occasions in the second half, including 58-57 with just under five minutes left. However, reserve Joe Chapman nailed two huge 3-point baskets late, and super sophomore point guard Travis Diener led all scorers with a game-high 29 points. All-American Dwayne Wade, held scoreless in the first half, also chipped in 15 second-half points for the Golden Eagles.

Marquette moves into the second game Saturday versus Missouri. Game time is set for approximately 2:50 p.m.

Game 2

In the second game of the day, the Missouri Tigers defeated the underdog Southern Illinois Salukis 72-71 on a Rickey Paulding free throw with 4.1 seconds left in the game. The contest was back and forth almost the entire way, with neither team gaining more than a six-point lead. The first half ended with the Tigers leading by one, 33-32, and the feeling in the dome was the game would go all the way to the wire. The feeling proved to be right. Arthur Johnson scored 10 points in the first half to pace Mizzou, while Stetson Hairston scored eight in the first 20 minutes to lead a balanced attack. SIU should have had a decent lead at the break but made just four-of-11 free throws in the half.

The second half saw more of the same, as both teams tried to gain separation from the other with little success. SIU appeared ready to seal the victory when two Kent Williams free throws gave the Carbondale Kids a 64-58 lead with five minutes and change remaining. But Missouri promptly went on an 11-0 run, highlighted by a Jimmy McKinney 3-pointer and inside domination by Johnson. Southern caught Missouri at 71 on a layup by Jermaine Dearman, but he was whistled for a very questionable foul at the 4.1 second mark, setting up the Paulding heroics. A 17-foot jumper by Williams was no good at the buzzer, and the sixth-seeded Tigers live to see another day.

[to top of second column in this article]

Johnson led all scorers with 24 points, while Paulding scored 19. Dearman had 17 for SIU, and Williams helped out with 16. Missouri will face Marquette Saturday in the second game of the day.

Game 3

[Click here for game story: "Illinois hangs on against the Hilltoppers."]

Game 4

The final game featured the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and the Panthers of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The fourth game in Indy on Thursday was just as close as the previous three and again came down to the final possession. Notre Dame won by one when UW-M's Dylan Page missed a point-blank layup and time expired. The fifth-seeded Irish controlled much of the first half, extending their lead to eight on a couple of occasions, but the Bruce Pearl-led Panthers refused to quit and used a 7-0 run to the end the half to catch the Irish at 29-all going into the break.

The second half was again more of the same, as runs by the Irish were always answered by Panther rallies. UW-M took the lead in the final 2½ minutes, but Notre Dame went up one with 32.8 seconds to go on a rebound basket by Torin Francis. UW-M decided not to call timeout and play for the win in front of several thousand Irish and Illini fans. Maybe the Illini gods were looking for Bruce Pearl revenge, as the Panthers missed several chances to win this game.

Notre Dame will face Illinois tomorrow at 12:10 p.m. in the only national game of the day in the NCAA tourney. Sophomore guard Chris Thomas led the Irish with 27 points and Francis helped out with 23. Ronnie Jones and Clay Tucker each scored 18 for the Panthers, who were making their first NCAA tournament appearance ever.

[Greg Taylor]

Articles from the past week

[MARCH 21, 2003]  Survived, escaped, Houdini act, were lucky, were fortunate, were blessed, were opportunistic, squeaked by, close call, made it by this much, saved our bacon, weathered the storm, eluded defeat, staved off, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, wriggled out of, abided, outlived, outlasted, and endured. Those are just a few of the words and phrases that might come to mind when describing Illinois' narrow 65-60 victory over Western Kentucky in the opening round of the NCAA tournament in Indianapolis.

Lincoln's Brian Cook became the 15th player in Illini history to record an NCAA tourney double-double. However, if not for the freshmen, Cook's and the Illini's season would have been over. James Augustine, Deron Williams and Dee Brown united for 37 points, 16 boards and 13 dishes to seal the Hilltoppers' fate.

WKU was everything they were advertised to be and more. We're not so sure that they were the best No. 13 seed out there, although a strong case could be made for Tulsa.

It may be that there is so much parity in today's game that there really are no longer ANY upsets in the NCAA tournament -- just teams who either played well or didn't. Why do you think the NBA plays a series of games for their postseason play? Did you think it was only for the money? One and done changes everything!

We don't think that WKU got the memo before the game: "They don't know that this is an exhibition; they think it's a stinkin' fight!" And for some reason they felt that Illinois was the enemy. They came roaring out of their locker room and may have even put some markers on the tote board before the opening tip, judging by their 20-14 lead by the second television timeout.

Luckily, by then, the Illini had waked up and took it home from there. They survived and moved on, and that's the best you can hope for on any day at the NCAAs!

--Brian Cook is now only six points away from third place on the Illini's all-time scoring list, and with his 10 boards he now has claimed sixth place on the all-time rebounding chart.

--Cook also handled reporters' questions on the officiating with style and grace.

--If Dennis Felton is not one of the best young coaches in America, we don't know who is.

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[photos by Tom Seggelke]

--How 'bout Illini nation? Our fans are just totally awesome. Showing the creativity that you would expect from the Orange and Blue backers, they were found in every section of the United Center Sunday as the Illinois outlasted Ohio State.

Thursday's opening round game in Indiana was no different. It was a sea of orange, and it really helped propel the Illini to victory, especially in the second half.

Illinois needs another strong fan showing Saturday to even hope to fend off the Irish!

--How many of your brackets are already busted? We were feeling good with our upset special of Tulsa over Dayton but then got mauled in the No. 8-No. 9 games. We hate those 8-9 matchups!

--The RCA Dome is just not the best place to hold a basketball game. Why not move the games to the beautiful Conseco Fieldhouse and have the sponsors just kick in a little more loot to offset the difference? You wouldn't see nearly as much bad perimeter shooting as you see in dome games.

Not only that, but it makes perimeter-oriented teams play totally differently than they have played all season. In domes, there is a premium on shot selection. Being the smart, knowledgeable, loyal LDN fans that you are, you're saying -- how is that different from any other game during the season? Great question.

The LDN response would be this: IF you don't get a lot of points in the paint, and if you don't attack the basket and get to the line, and if you don't hit your free throws, you're going to get an early spring vacation. How do we know this? Just ask Holy Cross or Southern Illinois.

Next up for the Illini: A Saturday date with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

[LDN sports]

• Last week's column: "Cook, seniors say goodbye to the Hall"

• More columns...

Announcements

[MARCH 6, 2003]  The Lincoln PONY Association will have its annual spring sign-up this year beginning March 9 and running until March 29. Sign-up sheets can be obtained at the front desk of the Lincoln Rec Center. On Saturday, March 29, representatives of Lincoln PONY will be on hand to assist with signups.

Lincoln PONY ball is for both boys baseball and girls softball, ages 8 through 14.

Additional information can be obtained at the Lincoln PONY website and at http://www.pony.org/.

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