Illinois had its 14-point lead shaved to two with 6 minutes to go. But the top-ranked Illini weren't going to let this game slip away.
They wouldn't add a loss to coach Bruce Weber's tragic weekend.
Illinois (31-1) held Minnesota (21-10) without a field goal for the final 4:05 on the way to a 64-56 win Saturday and a trip to the Big Ten tournament championship game for the third straight season. The Illini will face Wisconsin, a 59-56 winner over Iowa.
The Illini also tied a school record for victories, matching the mark set by the 1988-1989 Flyin' Illini team that went to Final Four.
"We say we're a family. That's what we emphasized all year," said forward James Augustine, who was the first to put an arm around his coach after the win. "We're all with him."
Weber coached the game less than 24 hours after his mother, 81-year-old Dawn Weber, died at a Chicago hospital after emergency heart surgery. He said there was never any doubt in his mind that he would be on the sideline.
"I'm proud of the kids and happy to be back in the championship [game]," Weber said. "I don't want to be the story. The kids have got to be the story."
The Illini wore black bands on their jerseys in memory of Dawn Weber, and the emotional drain showed early in what became a somewhat sloppy performance. They committed a season-high 23 turnovers and shot just 36 percent from the field.
"We were probably feeling a little too emotional," said Luther Head, who led five Illini in double figures with 14 points. "We're feeling the same way he's feeling."
The Illini, winners of 12 straight at the United Center, got going midway through the first half and took a 14-13 lead on the first of Head's four 3-pointers. They used a 14-0 run to turn an 13-8 deficit into a 22-13 lead.
Illinois led 30-26 at halftime and looked to be in control with 12:04 to go after Head's fourth roof-raising 3-pointer put the Illini ahead 49-35. But Illinois missed its next four shots and committed three turnovers, and the Gophers went on a 16-4 run.
Vincent Grier and Aaron Robinson scored all 16 points. After Robinson started the push with a 3-pointer, Grier hit a driving layup, a free throw and two runners to trim the Illinois lead to 50-46.
Deron Williams broke Illinois' drought with a 3-pointer, but Robinson hit another 3-pointer and Grier had a dunk that made it 53-51.
"It's unexplainable," Robinson said of Grier. "You can't put into words Vincent's game. He does everything for this team."
But Roger Powell Jr. converted a three-point play that pushed the Illini lead back to five, and the Gophers managed just three free throws down the stretch. Grier led the Gophers with 24 points. Robinson had 12 and Jeff Hagen scored 10 points.
"We slugged it out toe-to-toe with them," Gophers coach Dan Monson said. "They were better but the margin is narrowing for us. We're getting better at the right time of year. How fun is that?"
ny Times News Service, WASHINGTON
Suddenly and to the surprise of some, Georgia Tech is starting to look like the team that reached the NCAA championship game last spring before losing to Connecticut.
The Yellow Jackets began the week as the fifth-seeded team in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and still not assured of a national tournament berth. But they convinced most remaining doubters on Saturday with a rugged 78-75 victory over a North Carolina team that won the regular-season conference championship and is ranked second in the nation.
Guard Will Bynum led Georgia Tech with 35 points, including five 3-pointers and many drives down the lane and along the baseline that broke down the Tar Heels' defense. "It was just fun," Bynum said.
Paul Hewitt, the Georgia Tech coach, called it a "terrific win over one of the best teams in the country" but added, "This was no upset."
Others might dispute that, but Hewitt's experienced and talented Yellow Jackets again looked like a team with April possibilities.
Before the selections for the NCAA Tournament are announced Sunday evening, Georgia Tech will play Duke in the ACC championship game. The Blue Devils (24-5) qualified by beating North Carolina State 76-69 in the other semifinal Saturday.
The Wolfpack (19-13) led by 38-34 at halftime, but weakened in its third game in three days. J.J. Redick led Duke with 35 points.
NC State still expects an NCAA bid. Engin Atsur, who had 12 points, said he was "looking forward to next week."
Julius Hodge, who had 11 points, said, "We're going to see who we play on Thursday."
Coach Herb Sendek's Wolfpack beat Florida State, 70-54, on Thursday and upset Wake Forest, 81-65, on Friday. "Our play will speak for itself," he said. "We feel very good."
Bynum was not the only standout for Georgia Tech, which raised its record to 19-10 while dropping the Tar Heels to 27-4. Center Luke Schenscher had 15 points and 10 rebounds in his matchup with North Carolina's Sean May, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Jarrett Jack, Georgia Tech's junior point guard, had only six points while shooting 2 for 12 from the field. But he directed his offense by sensing who should get the ball as well as when and where they should get it.
"He is, unquestionably, our leader," Hewitt said.
Jack also snatched nine rebounds, including one at the buzzer after Rashad McCants of North Carolina missed a 3-point try that could have sent the game into overtime.
"I don't think we just came here to get a free T-shirt and then head home," Jack said.
North Carolina also got 17 points each from McCants and Raymond Felton. But the Tar Heels seemed at less than their best, as was the case on Friday when they needed a late comeback to oust Clemson 88-81.
May suggested that North Carolina might have let down after its 75-73 victory over Duke last Sunday to clinch the conference title in the final regular-season game.
"I think we got fat and happy," May said.
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