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Tuesday, March 27
Six foul out, Williams misfires in Illini loss
Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO – When Frank Williams finally hit a 3-pointer,
with just seconds remaining, there was no one left to help him.
More than half of his team had fouled out.
With Williams hounded into an awful shooting night, and Illinois
bumping and banging its way to 36 fouls, the top-seeded Illini
didn't have nearly enough to beat No. 2 Arizona in the Midwest
Regional final Sunday and lost 87-81.
|  | | Robert Archibald, left, Sergio McClain, and Lucas Johnson, right, look on from the bench late in the second half of Illinois' 87-81 loss to Arizona in the NCAA Midwest Regional final Sunday. |
Williams, the Big Ten player of the year, went just 3-for-15
from the field – including 1-for-6 on 3-pointers – and totaled nine
points. It was a big drop-off from Friday's regional semifinal,
when he scored a career-high 30 in a win over Kansas.
"It seems like they came out very aggressive on me and put
somebody much bigger guarding me to stop me from shooting over
them," the sophomore said. "I think Arizona's depth was the key.
They kept putting different people on me. It made it real tough."
Arizona's Richard Jefferson, a 6-foot-7 forward, shadowed the
6-3 Williams most of the game.
"Certainly, from an opposing coaching standpoint, I think that
was a good move to put Jefferson on Frank, especially after the way
he played on Friday," Illinois coach Bill Self said.
By the closing seconds, Self didn't have any choices to make
when it came to his lineup – six of 11 players fouled out.
The parade started with Brian Cook, who picked up his fifth foul
with 5:17 left and Illinois trailing 62-56.
Sergio McClain was the next to go, three minutes later, followed
by Robert Archibald (game-high 25 points), Damir Krupalija, Lucas
Johnson and Marcus Griffin.
All those fouls sent the Wildcats to the line for 56 free
throws, and they made 43.
"We played a very physical game and never backed down," said
McClain, who left with two points and six rebounds.
"They are just a very good team."
Still, Illinois (27-8) had a chance to complete a difficult
comeback, and Williams drew his team to 84-81 with 17 seconds left
on his lone 3-pointer of the game.
Three seconds later, though, Williams had to foul an opponent,
and he sent Jason Gardner to the line. Gardner went 1-for-2, then
Williams missed a 3-pointer that would have cut the Illini's
deficit to one point, and Loren Woods added Arizona's final two
points, appropriately on foul shots.
Asked about the officiating, Self said, "We can say we didn't
foul that much, but hey, we fouled a lot."
Self, in his first year at Illinois after leading Tulsa to the
round of eight last season, couldn't remember coaching a game in
which six players fouled out.
"You fight so hard," he said. "You're having to makeshift
your lineup. You're having to do a lot of things. We just couldn't
get over the hump."
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