From the beginning, almost as soon as he was named Illinois’ 16th basketball coach, Bruce Weber had a firm understanding of the possibilities.
He talked about making a run at a Big Ten championship and going deep into the NCAA tournament.
All he needed was some time to get a grip on all of it. He had to win over his players, perfect his motion offense and persuade Illini fans he was the right man to direct a talented young team.
By early February, after more tenuous moments than he could count, Illinois was on its way to its first outright Big Ten title in 52 years.
And Friday night, in a regional semifinal at the Georgia Dome, Illinois measured itself against Duke, one of the greatest collegiate programs in the last 20 years.
Illinois showed staying power, but not enough to knock down three-time NCAA champion Duke. The fifth-seeded Illini (26-7) fell to the top-seeded Blue Devils 72-62 despite 15 points and eight rebounds apiece from Roger Powell and James Augustine.
Duke (30-5) was led by Luol Deng, who scored 18, while J.J. Redick added 17 and Shelden Williams 14. The Blue Devils advance to the Elite Eight for the 17th time and will play seventh-seeded Xavier (26-10) on Sunday. Duke is looking for its 14th appearance in the Final Four.
“Everyone says they have a breeze to the Final Four,” Weber said of the Blue Devils before the game. “Maybe they know more about it than I do.”
Maybe not.
Illinois trailed only 31-30 at intermission behind Augustine’s 10 points and five rebounds. He did this in only nine minutes because of foul trouble.
Deron Williams, who led Illinois with 31 points Sunday in a second-round victory over Cincinnati, played just 11 minutes in the first half. He was called for his second foul just six minutes into the game but returned in time to cut Illinois’ deficit to four on a three-pointer with 5:39 left in the half.
The Illini were up 30-29 with 1:07 left in the half on a rebound basket by Powell, but Williams’ jumper with 47 seconds to go gave Duke its one-point advantage at intermission.
In the first half, Illinois shot a dismal 37.1 percent, way off its pace against Cincinnati. The Illini shot a season-high 63.6 percent against the Bearcats. Duke, behind freshman Deng’s 12 points, shot 48 percent. Duke succeeded in neutralizing Illinois’ perimeter play.
Dee Brown, who played the entire first half, left the game briefly in the second half to stretch his tiring legs and Illinois quickly went down 44-37. As soon as he returned, he scored five straight to put Illinois back in the game.
Regardless of the game’s outcome, their advancement to the Sweet 16 was a lofty accomplishment for the Illini, who have three sophomores and two juniors in their starting lineup. Reaching the NCAA tournament was a question in January.
The loss of Williams for three games because of a broken jaw and his subsequent loss of weight and strength, along with player suspensions, the team’s first loss at Assembly Hall in two years and a 1-2 start in Big Ten play tested the patience of the team and fans alike.
A 12-game winning streak in the second half of the season spoke volumes of the team’s perseverance. It also raised the possibility that Illinois may find itself sharing the spotlight with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and his Blue Devils sometime again soon.
“They really haven’t slipped much, one year maybe in his long tenure there, and so it is more a matter of us trying to get up in that pack,” Weber said.
“And you do it over time.”
