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Illinois doesn't get respect it deservesfrom the opposition

Like everyone outside Illini Nation, I wondered how the University of Illinois had done it.

Before Saturday night, Illinois was the most lightly regarded No. 1 team in college basketball history. Saturday night, it showed the nation why it had been on top for 15 weeks and had won 35 of 36 games, advancing to its first Final Four in 16 years.

If Louisville's 20-point come-from-behind victory over West Virginia was improbable, Illinois' 90-89 overtime comeback to win its 36th game of the season was downright unbelievable.

You could almost feel the Louisville surge coming. The Illini's rally came out of the blue. They were down by 15 points with 4 minutes 4 seconds left, and there wasn't much sign of a pulse -- not on the floor and not in the stands -- especially not in the stands.

Just like that, Illinois leaped back to life: a 3-pointer, a basket in the lane, a score after a steal, a basket and then a steal, leading to another basket.

The Illini miracle continues.

After the game, Augustine said: "My body is just shaking right now. I can't explain what this feels like. I think we might just be jumping around on the bus the whole way back."

Illinois guard Dee Brown simply said, "It was just meant to be."

The team wins 35 of 36 games and spends 15 weeks at the top of the rankings, yet -- before Saturday -- no one looks at Illinois and shivers.

Opponents have been more likely to look at Illinois and salivate. After Oklahoma State lost to Arizona on Thursday in the Chicago Regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament, Eddie Sutton, the Cowboys' coach, lamented that he would not get a shot at the Illini.

He said he thought his team matched up well with them. In the first round of the tournament, 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson, of all teams, thought it matched up well with Illinois. Opponents have apparently not arranged their TV viewing schedules around Illinois this season, as they might have done with glamour teams like Duke and North Carolina.

Before Saturday night's game, Arizona players said they had not watched the Illini this season. But Illinois players said they had watched a number of Arizona games. Illinois was perceived as beatable, vulnerable.

"I don't think we have dominant size; we don't have really one guy going for 30 or 28 or something like that," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "When you look at us, it's probably not that intimidating. It's a little bit of old-school basketball, and that's not always impressive to people because they don't see the spectacular plays."

Still, the news media almost created the perception that a team that went 35-1 could be an underdog.

Someone asked the Illinois players if Arizona was the best team they would face this season. The question overlooked the fact that two of Illinois' Big Ten rivals, Michigan State and Wisconsin, had also reached the Round of 8.

One difference between Arizona and Illinois could be seen in the backcourt, in the contrast between Salim Stoudamire of Arizona and Brown.

When somebody asked Brown about leaving for the pros after his junior season, he said: "NBA? You serious? I'm not even thinking about that.

"I know for a fact I won't be a first-round pick. I like college. I like what we're doing. I wish I could play on this team that we have right now for three more years."
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