Tom Crean's decision to stay at Marquette and not pursue the Illinois job leaves the Illini without a favorite to replace Bill Self.

Sources close to the likely candidates -- Cal's Ben Braun, Northern Illinois' Rob Judson, Southern Illinois' Bruce Weber, Xavier's Thad Matta and Creighton's Dana Altman -- said Tuesday night that Illinois athletic director Ron Guenther has not contacted them.

A source close to Crean said Guenther did not contact Crean before Tuesday night's announcement that Marquette had extended his contract.

Sources said Guenther, still smarting over Self's decision to leave for Kansas, spent Monday night and Tuesday in his office making a number of calls to gather information before pursuing a No. 1 choice. Guenther, who will act as a one-man search committee, hopes to hire a coach within two weeks and might lean on Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany for some advice.

Guenther wants a coach who will settle in at Illinois and not treat the opportunity as a stepping-stone to another, more prolific job.

Of the remaining candidates, sources said Braun would listen but is likely to stay at Cal. An Illinois native, Braun has what is considered a top-five recruiting class and already took himself out of the running of two previous Big Ten jobs in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Judson would take the Illinois job if offered. A former player under Lou Henson and a former assistant to Lon Kruger and Bill Self, Judson was 12-16 in his first season with Northern Illinois before leading the Huskies to a significant turnaround of 17-14 overall, 11-7 in the MAC last season. Judson is well-liked at Illinois, has contacts throughout the state and probably wouldn't leave the program.

A source close to former Purdue assistant Weber, who spent 18 years on Gene Keady's staff, said Weber would sign a contract with Illinois -- if he were offered the job -- stating he wouldn't leave the Illini for Purdue. Weber has led Southern Illinois to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances -- the Salukis reached the Sweet 16 in 2002 -- and the 2002-03 Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title. Southern Illinois played in the same regional as Illinois each of the last two seasons, and a source said the Illini administration was impressed by Weber's coaching.

Matta would be willing to "put an anchor down and stay at Illinois" if called, a source close to him said. Matta, a native of Hoopeston, Ill., which is 40 miles north of Champaign, led Xavier to the Atlantic 10 title and back-to-back NCAA appearances. His teams have traditionally worked extremely hard but, like Self, he's been on a meteoric rise since leaving Butler for Xavier after only a few seasons.

Altman, who turned Creighton into the Missouri Valley's top program and chief rival of Southern Illinois, would also listen closely to Illinois if called. Altman was in the Big 12 at Kansas State and would jump at a Big Ten opportunity.

Former Bulls coach Tim Floyd and former Illini and Atlanta Hawks coach Lon Kruger aren't expected to be candidates. Oregon's Ernie Kent, a native of Rockford, Ill., and Notre Dame's Mike Brey are not interested in the job.

Guenther might pull a not-so-obvious candidate out of his hat, too. Crean's elimination from the search, however, makes this the toughest domino to figure, let alone fall, in the spring coaching carousel.

Andy Katz is a senior writer for ESPN.com.