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Illinois
Road to the Final Four.............................................................................................
First-year coach Bill Self did what Lon Kruger could not do last season. He guided a talented and deep team to a share of the Big Ten regular-season title. Only three teams beat defending national champion Michigan State during the Big Ten regular season and the Illini were one of them. The teams met on Feb. 8 in Champaign-Urbana and the Illini shredded Michigan State's defense en route to a 77-68 victory. The decisive victory put the Illini in sole possession of first place in the conference. Although they threw away an outright title by losing at Ohio State , they rebounded to win their final two regular-season games and share the title. The Illini have proven worthy of the No. 1 seed in the Midwest, beating UNC-Greensboro and Charloote by a combined 60 points on their way to the Sweet 16.. Player to Watch Among Big Ten teams, only Michigan State can match Illinois' depth. The Illini have players capable of putting up big numbers offensively at every position. And their bench is equally as versatile. Yet the one player who drives the team is sophomore point guard Frank Williams, who was named Big Ten player of the year. Williams closed the regular season ranked in the top 10 in the conference in scoring (15.0 points), assists (4.1) and steals (2.1) and led his team in each category. With the Ball Coaches who face Illinois all face the same dilemma -- whom to guard. Williams can break down any defense with dribble penetration. Brian Cook and Marcus Griffin both averaged more than 11 points per game during the regular season. Both are dangerous near the basket but Cook can hit consistently from 15 feet. Cory Bradford finished sixth in the Big Ten in three-pointers made and reserve guard Sean Harrington led the Big Ten in three-point field-goal percentage at .457. Defending the Ball Self has instilled a toughness and tenacity into the team's defense, which is a hounding, man to man. Forward Sergio McClain is the designated stopper and does much of the dirty work; Cook and Griffin are active inside and forward Lucas Johnson riles the opposition better than any player in the conference. As a result, the Illini finished No. 2 in the Big Ten in field-goal percentage defense (.387) and No. 4 in scoring defense (63.6 points per game). Seed Analysis Exceeding the Seed: None Playing to Expectations Falling Short BRACKETOLOGY SCORE: .710 (1,000 is playing exactly to a team's historical seeding)Bracketology Report 1985-2000: Can you say Austin Peay? When Illinois make Dick Vitale stand on his head in 1987, it was one of six times the Illini have underachieved in the NCAA tournament since 1985. Worse, Illinois has yet to balance any of those underwhelming performances by exceeding its seed. The Final Four team of 1989 was seeded to get that far, as was the Sweet 16 club of 1985. The Illini have one of the lowest Bracketology Scores in the field. Roster
 NCAA Basketball Championship Week It's March, which means the madness has started and invitations are being reserved throughout Championship Week.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |  |
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Bill Self says his team has a width advantage over Kansas.
ESPN's Scott Walker looks at the hectic life of the student athlete with Illinois' Sean Harrington.
