March 16, 2001

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By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer

DAYTON, Ohio - A bank shot, a dunk, a pair of 3's, a 10-point lead in the blink of an eye. All Illinois needed was 100 seconds to demonstrate the difference between a play-in team and a premier team.

The Midwest Region's top-seeded team swatted away the NCAA tournament's lowest Friday, using size and savvy to beat Northwestern State 96-54 in a first-round game.

Illinois (25-7) ran to a 10-0 lead in the opening 1:40, a blitz that dazzled the Demons (19-13) and let them know there would be no upset.

The unheralded team that left Louisiana in a pre-dawn thunderstorm last Monday, munching breakfast sandwiches on the bus, sat silently on benches in the dressing room and ate more sandwiches as the loss sunk in.

"It's just hard to stop a big train when it gets going, and that's what happened," said guard Michael Byars-Dawson, who was only 1-of-8 from the field.

Midway through the first half, Illinois was up by 22 points and substituting so freely that it had only one starter on the floor at times.

Marcus Griffin scored 16 points, leading six players in double figures for Illinois. The Illini also dominated the boards 44-27, scoring half of their points from in the key against the diminutive Demons.

Northwestern State's D'or Fischer, who had nine blocks - third-most in tournament history - during the play-in victory, swatted away three shots but couldn't prevent the Illini from scoring regularly on power moves to the basket.

"Certainly I know it's a helpless feeling, but I've been in those shoes," said Illinois' Bill Self, who also has coached at Oral Roberts and Tulsa. "We're realistic enough to know that they were scrappy, but we had a size advantage and it will be very different against whoever we play next."

Up next is either Charlotte or Tennessee, who met in the other first-round afternoon game.

Illinois' only setback came midway through the first half, when forward Sergio McClain bruised his right shin and had to be helped off the floor by two teammates. He got the leg iced and didn't return.

X-rays found no fracture, and Self expected McClain to play in the second-round game on Sunday.

Northwestern State won a novel play-in game against Winthrop on Tuesday, becoming a footnote to NCAA tournament history. The Demons then set out to pull off a major upset - no 16th seed has ever beaten a No. 1.

It didn't take them long to size up their predicament. During pregame warmups, the much smaller Demons swiveled their heads to check out the Illini, who were ignoring them while making layups.

One hundred seconds after the tip-off, Northwestern State was down 10-0 and calling a timeout. Illinois made its first four shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, and pulled off a fastbreak dunk that sent a message.

Frank Williams, the Big Ten's player of the year, stole a crosscourt pass by Josh Hancock and headed for the basket. As Hancock closed, Williams smoothly flipped a no-look pass behind his back to a trailing Griffin, who finished the play with an emphatic dunk.

"When a very talented team gets in that position, it makes it very difficult for a group like ours to come back," Northwestern State coach Mike McConathy said. "If a team gets ahead and they're able to get the ball inside for easy baskets, it's very difficult for you to rally."

Griffin had two dunks and a putback during an 11-1 run early in the second half that pushed the lead to 25 points. The Southland Conference champions realized their first NCAA tournament appearance was approaching an end.

"We had to be intimidators inside," Griffin said. "I just tried to be a presence."

Illinois is fighting its history of early flameouts. Since reaching the Final Four in 1989, the Illini have failed to make it past the second round in seven consecutive appearances.