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Friday, March 23
Region playing out as planned
By Jeff Potrykus
Special to ESPN.com
You study the Sweet 16 and one thought leaps to mind: Who was the idiot in charge of addressing the invitations to the four regionals?
|  | | Corey Bradford and the Illini are driving toward the Final Four. |
No. 12 Gonzaga, No. 11 Temple and No. 7 Penn State in the South? No. 10 Georgetown in the West? No. 6 USC in the East? The geographic contradictions alone are enough to leave your head spinning.
Only in the Midwest has order been restored: No. 1 Illinois, No. 2 Arizona, No. 3 Mississippi and No. 4 Kansas all remain alive.
A year ago at this time, Illinois, Arizona and Kansas were bounced in the second round. Mississippi was banished to the NIT, where it lost to North Carolina State in the quarterfinals.
Now, Illinois and Arizona are playing well enough to not only win the Midwest Regional this weekend in San Antonio but also go on and win the national championship. (Kansas is playing exceptionally well, too, but a lack of depth could be the Jayhawks' downfall.)
The difference this season for Illinois? A year of maturity for players such Frank Williams and Brian Cook, both sophomores; a commitment to defense; and the work of first-year coach Bill Self, who guided Tulsa to the Elite Eight last season.
"He knows how to win, not just at Tulsa but (as an assistant) at Oklahoma State," senior forward Sergio McClain said. "He's been there before. There's a confidence in him and he's sharing it with us."
Senior center Marcus Cook felt the change immediately.
"When he got the job," Marcus Griffin said, "I thought we could do great things."
Illinois did great things in whipping Charlotte in the second round in Dayton. Guards Cory Bradford and Williams shut down the perimeter and the post players, led by Cook and Griffin, dominated the lane.
Although Bradford and Williams will again be busy, this time with Kirk Hinrich and Jeff Boschee, the war in the lane could be brutal.
Illinois will have greater numbers, with a six-player rotation at the three frontcourt spots. Yet are any two big men playing better than Kansas sophomores Drew Gooden and Nick Collison?
Gooden (15.9 points, 8.3 rebounds) and Collison (13.7, 6.7) are powerful, mobile, unselfish and solid interior passers. And we haven't even mentioned the slasher, senior Kenny Gregory (15.8, 7.4). McClain, Illinois' defensive stopper, will have his hands full with Gregory.
Kansas' most critical weapon could be its collective attitude. Coach Roy Williams and the players acknowledge they succumbed to pressure in the past, losing in the second round in each of the last three seasons.
"I think we are a little looser this year," Gregory said. "I think the past two seasons we kind of let the expectations get to us. We were picked to finish first in the league and didn't (meet) the expectations. I think overall we put too much pressure on ourselves and it was affecting our play.
"This year we're a little more laid back. We're aggressive, but we just try to have fun. The two keys for this team (are) as long as are ready to play from the start and not let teams get out on us early and as long as we're having fun, this team can be successful."
Success was predicted for Lute Olson's Arizona team during the preseason, when the Wildcats were given the No. 1 national ranking. All five starters were back and the players vowed to make amends for their stunning second-round loss to Wisconsin.
Then senior center Loren Woods was suspended for the first six games for receiving gifts from a family friend. Forward Richard Jefferson was suspended for one game for essentially the same violation. Then came the death of Bobbi Olson, Lute's wife. The Wildcats were reeling, going 8-5 after 13 games.
They've now won 17 of their last 19 games and Woods has snapped out of a lengthy funk. Arizona's execution on offense and defense has never been better this season. The Wildcats are limiting opponents to 39.5 percent shooting, including 30.6 percent from three-point range. They handcuffed Butler's perimeter game in the second round and should be able to do the same to Mississippi.
"We have a shot (at the national title) if we keep our mind on our business and play the way we're capable of playing," Olson said. "We have a shot against anybody."
Mississippi, making its first Sweet 16 appearance, managed a No. 3 seeding but has to be considered a Cinderella compared to the other teams in the region. After getting blown out by Kentucky in the SEC tournament title game, Mississippi has escaped with last-second victories against Iona and Notre Dame.
"It's great for our program, for our basketball team, and for me, personally," said Mississippi coach Rod Barnes, in his third season. "We felt like we have taken another step to earn respect across the country."
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SEMIFINALS SKINNY
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No. 2 Arizona
vs. No. 3 Mississippi
Friday, 7:55 p.m.
Arizona was the pre-season No. 1. Mississippi is making its first trip to the Sweet 16. The Wildcats have a legendary coach in Lute Olson and marquee names all over the roster. The Rebels have a rather anonymous coach and a roster full of players who better carry American Express cards. (Can you name their starting five?) Just what will it take for the Rebels to beat Arizona? What would it take for Mississippi's 5-5 guard Jason Harrison to dunk over Arizona's 7-0 center Loren Woods? A miracle.
No. 1 Illinois
vs. No. 4 Kansas
Friday, 10:20 p.m.
Both teams possess strength and versatility along the baseline. The battle between Brian Cook and Marcus Griffin of Illinois and Drew Gooden and Nick Collison will be worth the price of admission alone. Both teams also boast gifted guards. What might separate the two teams? Illinois can use a nine-player rotation with little drop-off. Injuries have left the Jayhawks dangerously thin.
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Is less more?
Roy Williams' Southern drawl and folksy charm belie a man who loves to coach aggressively. Frenetic pressure on defense; run and have fun on offense; and sub after sub coming off the bench to keep the Jayhawks' game plan flowing.
Not any longer.
Williams is down to seven scholarship players. Only six played in the Jayhawks' 29-point victory over Syracuse in the second round.
Luke Axtell, a 6-9 senior forward who has been plagued by recurring back pain, decided to walk away from the game before the Big 12 tournament. Bryant Nash, a 6-6 freshman forward, recently had knee surgery and is out for the season. Mario Kinsey, a 6-2 freshman guard, joined the team after football season. But he left the basketball team last month to concentrate on academics.
As a result, the Jayhawks are playing more zone and the starters are getting more minutes. Against Syracuse, every starter played at least 29 minutes. Reserve center Eric Chenowith and reserve guard Brett Ballard were the only Kansas subs to play significant minutes.
But rather than grow weary, the starters are reveling in the extra work.
"Players want to play," Gregory said after he played a team-high 35 minutes against Syracuse. "When you play 11 or 12 guys, that doesn't satisfy some people, even if they won't come out and say it. So if you can have the best seven or eight guys on the floor and keep them out of foul trouble, that's better."
Ditto, says Gooden.
"It builds team chemistry," he said. "It builds a flow. Everybody knows who to go to because you're not coming in and out so much."
Stronger as a sophomore
A year later, Illinois sophomore forward BrianCook still loathes talking about his ugly two-game journey into the NCAA Tournament.
"I let the team down," Cook said.
Harsh but true.
In a first-round victory over Pennsylvania, Cook took two shots. He missed both. He finished with no points and two rebounds.
In a second-round loss to Florida, Cook took five shots. He missed four.
"I was kind of in awe," Cook said.
No more.
Cook had 15 points and eight rebounds in a first-round victory over Northwestern State and followed that with 16 points and eight rebounds in the victory over Charlotte. Cook actually had more points and rebounds in the first five minutes against Charlotte than he did in his two NCAA games last season.
"Last year I was really disappointed," he said. "This year I came out and played hard and had fun."
Around the Midwest
Arizona's Loren Woods has been warned.
When he patrols the lane Friday against Mississippi, he is bound to run into the Rebels' version of Charles Barkley -- Rahim Lockhart.
The 6-foot-8, 255-pound senior center fears no one. He dominated play inside in the victory over Notre Dame with 24 points and figures to be the focal point of Arizona's interior defense.
"Rahim is one of the best low-post players in the nation," Barnes said. "There are not many low-post defenders that can stop him one-on-one."
Woods, who has 67 blocks this season, might have the final word.
Not long ago, it appeared Kansas had almost no shot of reaching the Sweet 16. After the loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament, Gregory called his teammates selfish. Collison followed that by saying the team lacked togetherness.
Gooden, though, believes every team experiences such tension and criticized reporters for blowing the incident out of proportion.
"I think it was a waste of ink," Gooden said.
Considering how well the Jayhawks played in Dayton, he may be correct.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim thinks the NCAA Tournament is like a once-comfortable two-story house that has become a bit crowded and needs to be expanded. NCAA officials added a 65th team this season via a play-in game. The last major expansion came in 1985, when the field grew to 64 teams from 48.
"There's at least 50 percent more good teams now than there was in '85," Boeheim said. "I'm surprised people aren't talking about it a little more."
Kansas' plus-33 rebounding advantage over Syracuse is tied for the No. 5 mark in NCAA tournament games. Notre Dame owns the record with a plus-42 over Tennessee Tech in 1958 (86-44). "We knew we would get out-rebounded," Boeheim said. "But you can't get out-rebounded by 30."
The last time Illinois reached the Sweet 16 was 1989, when the Illini were seeded No. 1 in the Midwest and reached the Final Four. They lost in the semifinals to Michigan, which went on to beat Seton Hall in the championship game.
Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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