The ending defied Illinois’ season. This one, by all rights, could have, should have been a loss. Up 62-52 with 4 minutes 53 seconds to play, Illinois couldn’t find the basket as seventh-seeded Penn State roared to a 63-62 lead. The 10th-seeded Illini then missed a shot with under 10 ticks to go, only to get the ball back when it went out of bounds.
But Chester Frazier was a savior, scoring with just 3.8 seconds left to change the script and send Illinois into the quarterfinals and a date with second-seeded Purdue.
Coach Bruce Weber said the movie “ended differently this time.” But will 2008 be a sequel to the 1999 original — a run by the 11th-seeded Illini all the way to the conference tournament final?
Wildcats turn mild at the end
No. 11 seed Northwestern led Minnesota by 13 at the half but let the lead evaporate. The Wildcats retook the lead late, only to give it back to the sixth-seeded Gophers. Then, with the ball and trailing by one in the closing seconds, Northwestern couldn’t even get off a shot, was forced to foul and fell 55-52. “It’s like the icing on the cake,” disappointed Wildcats forward Kevin Coble said.
Playing follow the leader
Top-seeded Wisconsin is the kind of team Michigan would like to be someday soon, and the Wolverines can see how far they need to go in their quarterfinal Friday against the Badgers. A preview of all the quarterfinals.
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COMPLETE COVERAGE, PAGE 3
