March 18, 2003
GAME: No. 13 Western Kentucky (24-8) vs. No. 4 Illinois (24-6).
REGIONAL: West, first round.
TIME: Thursday, 7:10 p.m. EST.
SITE: The RCA Dome; Indianapolis.
Illinois won eight of its last nine games, including its conference tournament. Its "reward": a No. 4 seed in the toughest bracket in the NCAA tournament.
The Fighting Illini begin their trek through the treacherous West Regional as they face 13th-seeded Western Kentucky on Thursday.
Illinois came on strong late in the regular season and finished second to Wisconsin in the Big Ten. The Illini then won the conference tournament with Sunday's 72-59 win over Ohio State.
Shortly after the victory, however, the Illini learned that they had been placed in the same region as Arizona, Kansas and Duke.
"You can make a strong case that the West is arguably the toughest region," Illini coach Bill Self said. "When it came down to it, I was thinking, 'Kansas hasn't been called yet. Duke hasn't been called yet. Notre Dame hasn't been called yet.'
"I think there should have been a fifth regional."
The Illini have played Kansas in the last two tournaments. They have been placed in the same region with Kansas the last four years, with Duke two of the last four, and Arizona two of the last three.
"It is interesting that Arizona and Kansas seems to be in our way," Self said. "But you know something, I hope we have to play them because that means we've won two games."
Guard Luther Head said the Illini have to put their disappointment behind them.
"We were hoping for as much as we can get, but we came back with the four," he said. "We've got to learn to live with it and play."
Against the Buckeyes, star forward Brian Cook had a relatively cold night, shooting 4-of-16 for 15 points, while starting guard Dee Brown had four points and four turnovers.
The Illini will likely need more from that duo, which combines for 32 points per game, to advance deep in the tournament.
The Hilltoppers earned their third straight bid to the NCAA tournament with last Tuesday's 64-52 win over Middle Tennessee in the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship.
Dennis Felton became the first coach in the team's 84-year history to win three straight Sun Belt tournaments.
"All I know is this - there are over 260 teams home right now watching a select few that are still playing," he told a crowd at Western Kentucky's E.A. Diddle Arena that had gathered to watch the tournament selection show. "Obviously, we are very proud to be in the national tournament again."
"We're going up to Indianapolis to keep playing as long as we can."
Western Kentucky has not won in the NCAA tournament since 1995, when it beat another Big Ten opponent, Michigan.
Illinois leads the season series 1-0. The Illini beat the Hilltoppers 93-80 on Dec. 12, 1959 in Champaign.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Western Kentucky - F Nate Williams, F David Boyden, G Filip Videnov, G Mike Wells, G Patrick Sparks. Illinois - F Cook, F Powell, C/F James Augustine, G Brown, G Deron Williams.
TEAM LEADERS: Western Kentucky - Sparks, 13.6 ppg and 5.9 apg; Boyden 5.3 rpg. Illinois - Cook, 20.1 ppg and 7.2 rpg, Brown, 4.9 apg.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Western Kentucky - Automatic bid, Sun Belt tournament champion. Illinois - Automatic bid, Big Ten tournament champion.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Western Kentucky - 15-19, 18 years. Illinois - 29-23, 22 years.
