Listen to Coach Self's comments at his media luncheon (Tuesday, March 20).

March 20, 2001

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FIGHTING ILLINI BASKETBALL
2001 NCAA Basketball Tournament - Regionals
#1 Seed Midwest Region March 23 & 25, 2001

San Antonio, Texas Alamodome (40,000)

Final Shots

• Tournament Notes: Illinois enters the 2001 NCAA Tournament for the second time as a No. 1 seed. Previously, Illinois was a No. 1 in 1989, also in the Midwest Region. That year Illinois advanced to the Final Four.
• Select Company: Bill Self became the first coach in 22 years, just the sixth all-time in the Big Ten, and second Illini coach to win a Big Ten championship in his first season as coach at a conference school. Minnesota's Bill Musselman is the only coach to win an outright title in his first season in 1972. Other league rookies earning hardware are Iowa's Sam Barry in 1923, Michigan's George Veekner in 1929, Illinois' Doug Mills in 1937 and Purdue's Lee Rose in 1979.
• More Select Company: When Illinois defeated Iowa on Feb. 24, Bill Self became just the fourth coach in the Big Ten since 1951 (when Michigan State joined the league) to defeat every other conference team in his first season. The other three coaches are Indiana's Bob Knight in 1972, Iowa's Tom Davis in 1987 and Penn State's Jerry Dunn in 1996.
• Illini Milestone: Illinois became the 18th Div. I program to reach 1,400 all-time victories with the Feb. 17 win at Indiana.
• Great Mark: Illinois' 13-3 (.813) record in Big Ten play is its best since also finishing 13-3 in 1998. The only better mark since going 12-2 (.857) in 1952 came in 1984 when the Illini went on to finish 15-3 (.833) and tie for the Big Ten title with Purdue.
• 20th 20-win Season: Illinois' victory over Wisconsin on Feb. 13 marked the 20th win of the season, and the 20th 20-win season in Illini basketball history. It also marked the second-earliest 20th win in school history (by calendar date). The earliest was Feb. 11, 1989 when the Illini defeated Northwestern. That team went on to win a school-record 31 games.
• Wins, Wins and More Wins: Illinois' 26 victories this season is tied for the second-most wins in a season in school history with 1984 and 1985. The school record for victories in a season is 31 in 1989.
• Rejection Notice: After blocking a total of 37 shots (3.1 avg.) over the first 12 games of the season, the Fighting Illini have totaled 107 (5.1 avg.) in the last 21 games. Illinois' season average of 4.4 blocks is the team's highest average since the school-record average of 4.7 was set in the 1986-87 season. Blocked shots were not kept as an official statistic until 1977.
• In Big Ten play, Marcus Griffin (3rd, 1.67), Brian Cook (4th, 1.63 avg.) and Robert Archibald (9th, 1.13) all ranked among the Top 10 in the league in blocked shots.
• Comeback Kids: Illinois overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to defeat Wisconsin 68-67 Feb. 13 in Champaign. Earlier this season, the Illini set a school record by coming from 21 points down to defeat Seton Hall.
• High-Scoring: Illinois is averaging 77.7 points per game, the highest Illini scoring average since 1994 when Illinois averaged 84.0 points per game. In Big Ten games, the Illini ranked second in the league in scoring with an average of 75.3 points.
• Very Offensive: In Big Ten play, the Illini led the league in three-point field goal shooting (.390), ranked second in scoring margin (+11.7), second in scoring (75.3 ppg) and third in field-goal shooting (.465). Illinois also ranked second in the league in assists (14.88) and third in offensive rebounds (12.63) and three-point field goals made (7.00 avg.).
• Self Defense: After 33 games, opponents are shooting just 38.3 percent from the field. That is the lowest opponent shooting percentage since the 1955-56 season when Illini opponents shot 35.2 percent from the field. In games played through March 5, Illinois ranked fourth in the nation in field-goal percentage defense behind Holy Cross, Alabama State and Kansas.
• In league play, the Illini were second in the Big Ten in field-goal percentage defense (.387) while ranking second in blocked shots (5.19), second in steals (7.44) and fourth in scoring defense (63.6).
• Defending Home Court: In Illinois' 12 homes games at the Assembly Hall this season, opponents shot a combined 34.6 percent (240-693 FG) from the field and 29.4 percent (74-252 3FG) from three-point range.
• Home Court Streakin': Illinois finished the 2000-01 season with an 18-game winning streak at the Assembly Hall, the longest home winning streak by the Illini since winning 28 straight from Feb. 11, 1988 to Jan. 15, 1990. Illinois completed its first unbeaten home season since the 1988-89 season (17-0). The current 18-game winning streak ranks ninth nationally.
• Board Work: Illinois' average of 40.0 rebounds per game is the team's highest average since 1979 when the Illini averaged 41.3 rebounds per game. Illinois' rebounding margin (6.7) ranks 13th in the nation.
• Judson New Coach at NIU: Assistant Coach Rob Judson was named head coach at Northern Illinois University on March 6. Judson will stay with the Illinois team until the end of the season.

Illini Perfect in Single Matchups
Illinois was the only school in the Big Ten this season to win all four games against conference teams it met just once during the regular season. Illinois was 4-0 against Michigan State, Wisconsin, Purdue and Indiana. Michigan State, Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State all went 3-1, Indiana and Minnesota went 2-2, Iowa and Northwestern were 1-3, and, Michigan and Purdue were both 0-4 this year.

Williams Big Ten Player of the Year
Sophomore Frank Williams was named Big Ten Player of the Year by both the media and coaches for 2001, and was named winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball as the Big Ten MVP. Williams becomes the first Illini player to earn conference player of the year honors since Bruce Douglas was named co-Big Ten Player of the Year (with Purdue's Jim Rowinski) in 1984. Illinois' last league Silver Basketball winner was Jim Dawson in 1967.

Williams also was a unanimous First-Team All-Big Ten choice by the media and a First-Team pick by the coaches. He was a first-team pick by the NABC for District 11, first-team USBWA All-District and third-team All-America by the Associated Press and is a finalist for the Wooden Award All-America team.

Last Time Out : 1st & 2nd Rounds
Illinois opened NCAA Tournament play with a 96-54 victory over Northwestern State at the Dayton Arena. Marcus Griffin led six Illini scorers in double figures with 16 points. Illinois set season highs with 96 points and 27 assists as the team shot 56 percent from the field. The Illini bench combined for 39 points.

In the second round, the Illini defense held heralded freshman Rodney White to just nine points in a 79-61 victory. Brian Cook led the Illini with 16 points, while Frank Williams posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Williams Tough in the Clutch
Frank Williams has made a habit of picking up his level of play in crunch time. So far this season, he is averaging 5.6 points in the first half of games and 9.1 points in the second half (including overtime). His shooting percentage meanwhile has stayed steady at 41.0 percent in the first half and 41.9 percent in the second half. He has scored in double figures 12 times in the second half alone, while reaching double figures in the first half just twice. His top efforts have come against some of Illinois' toughest opponents. In the second half he has scored 14 against UNLV, 16 vs. Maryland, 18 vs. Arizona, 13 vs. Duke, 17 vs. Seton Hall, 12 vs. Missouri, 16 against Minnesota, 16 against Ohio State, 16 vs. Michigan, 14 vs. Penn State, 18 vs. Wisconsin and 14 vs. Ohio State.

National Exposure
So far this season, Illinois has played 18 games on national television. The Illini have played nine times on ESPN (6-3), four times on espn2 (2-2), and five times on CBS (4-1). Illinois' 19th national TV appearance will be on CBS March 23 against Kansas.

High Theft Area
After making 250 steals through 33 games, Illinois stands second in the Big Ten in steals with an average of 7.58 per game. Frank Williams, who leads the Illini with 63 steals (1.97 avg.), ranks third in the conference behind Penn State's Titus Ivory (2.59) and Wisconsin's Mike Kelley (2.07). Sergio McClain meanwhile ranks 12th (1.30 avg.).

In Big Ten games, Williams was third in the league with an average of 1.80 steals per game and McClain ranked fifth with a 1.63 average.

Crashing the Boards
This season the Illini are rebounding the basketball with authority. Illinois has outrebounded 26 of its 33 opponents (Kansas State won the rebounding battle by just one, 37-36, UIC tied with 37 each, Ohio State won by 37-31 margin, Iowa won by 47-27 margin, Michigan won 37-36, Michigan State used a 35-29 advantage, and Indiana won by two, 36-34), highlighted by a 42-27 advantage against No. 1 Duke, and a 55-37 edge vs. Maryland in the Maui Invitational. On the year, Illinois is averaging 40.0 rebounds per game, compared to 33.0 for the competition. Marcus Griffin (6.2), Brian Cook (6.2), and Sergio McClain (5.4) lead the Illini in rebounding. At the offensive end, Illinois is averaging 13.4 offensive boards per game to rank third in the Big Ten, led by Griffin's total of 85 (2.7 avg.). Feb. 13 against Wisconsin, Illinois grabbed nine offensive rebounds off of 13 missed shots in the second half to spark the comeback victory.

Bradford Nets NCAA 3-Point Record
Illinois junior guard Cory Bradford had his NCAA record for consecutive games with a three-pointer snapped Feb. 13 against Wisconsin when he was held scoreless from the arc for the first time in his college career. He broke the previous record of 73 games set by Wally Lancaster of Virginia Tech from 1986-89 with his first trey against Arizona on Dec. 16. Bradford tied the record with two treys in overtime of the victory over Seton Hall Dec. 9. Bradford had made a three-pointer in every game of his collegiate career entering the Wisconsin game, a streak of 88 consecutive games.

Bradford also has started every game of his Illini career and enters the Kansas game with a school-record streak of 97 starts for the Illini.

In Big Ten play, Bradford saw his field-goal percentage rise from 32.5 percent in non-conference play to 42.6 percent in Big Ten games, including 41 percent from three-point range. In 16 conference games, Bradford was 52-122 from the field and 29-71 from three-point range while averaging 9.3 points per game.

Bradford enters the Regional Semifinals with 1,303 career points, 14th on the Illini career scoring list.

Bradford's streak of consecutive starts set a school record against Northwestern on Feb. 3, passing Richard Keene's previous record streak of 85 consecutive games started in an Illini career.

Top 10 Streak Alive
Illinois has been ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Top 10 for 19 consecutive polls, the longest stretch of Top 10 action since a string of 28 straight polls in the Top 10 in the 1989 and 1990 seasons.

"D" is Key for the Illini
In 33 games so far, Illinois has allowed just one opponent to shoot 50 percent (Wisconsin, .548) from the field, and just five opponents (Iowa, .458, Penn State, .492, Ohio State, .490, Indiana, .469) to shoot better than 45 percent from the field (including six games vs. Top 10 opponents) to lead the Big Ten in field-goal percentage defense (.383) and rank fourth in the nation in field goal defense (as of March 12).

On Dec. 6, Wisconsin-Milwaukee shot 21.7 percent from the field (13-60) to set an all-time Assembly Hall record for lowest field-goal percentage. The Illini also held Michigan to just 13 field goals to tie the Assembly Hall record for fewest field goals while holding the Wolverines to just .277 (13-47) shooting from the field.

In Big Ten play, the Illini were just as good, holding opponents to just .387 field goal shooting to again lead the conference.

The Illini also ranked second in the Big Ten in blocked shots with an average of 5.2 per game in league play.

In games at the Assembly Hall this season, opponents shot a combined 34.6 percent (240-693 FG) from the field and 29.4 percent (74-252 3FG) from three-point range. Minnesota (.418), Michigan State (.429) and Wisconsin (.548) were the only opponents to shoot better than 40 percent from the field against the Illini at the Assembly Hall on the season.

Top 10 Matchups
Illinois' game Dec. 16 against No. 7 Arizona was the Illini's fifth game between two Top 10 programs in the first 10 games of the season. Five of Illinois' 13 non-conference opponents were ranked at least seventh or higher with two No. 1s on the schedule. Michigan State, ranked No. 4 in both major polls at the time, lost to the Illini on Feb. 6.

Top 10 Matchups II
Illinois and Michigan State both brought Top 10 rankings into the Feb. 6 game. The previous Big Ten game at the Assembly Hall when both teams were ranked in the Top 10 was Jan. 15, 1990 when third-ranked Michigan defeated No. 8 Illinois, 74-70.

MSU was the highest-ranked opponent to play at the Assembly Hall since No. 3 Michigan defeated unranked Illinois, 98-97, in overtime on March 10, 1993.

Success Against the Top 10
Illinois is 4-2 against the Top 10 this season, including three straight wins. Illinois' best season against the AP Top 10 came in 1988-89 when the Illini were 5-2 for the season and 4-1 in the regular season.

Facing Two #1's in a Week
There's a reason why many people point to Illinois' schedule as one of the toughest in the nation in non-conference play. The Illini played six teams ranked in the Top 10, including a pair of No. 1s. This marks the first time ever that the Illini played two different No. 1 teams in the same season, and even more impressive, those games came less than a week apart. Illinois fell to then-No. 1 Arizona, 79-76, in the championship of the Maui Invitational on Nov. 22. Just six days later, the Illini faced No. 1 Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, falling by just one point, 78-77. Michigan State was ranked No. 1 in the nation at one point in the season and was No. 4 before coming to Illinois on Feb. 6

Griffin Strong in the Post
Senior center Marcus Griffin has turned in quite a performance so far with his dominating inside play to earn third-team All-Big Ten honors by league coaches.

In one of his best performances of the season, Griffin scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half of Illinois' victory over Wisconsin on Feb. 13. Griffin's final points came on a lob from Sean Harrington on an out-of-bounds play with 0.8 seconds remaining for the winning basket.

Griffin is Illinois' second-leading scorer at 11.9 points per game and leader in rebounding at 6.2 boards per game. Eighty-five of his 198 rebounds have been at the offensive end. Griffin sat out the second-half of the win over Michigan (1/13), the entire Northwestern game (1/17) and all but four minutes of the Penn State game (1/20) after suffering an injury while falling after being fouled against the Wolverines.

In Big Ten play, Griffin ranked fifth in the league in field-goal shooting at 54.1 percent (60-111).

He scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the victory over Minnesota Jan. 3. He scored 21 points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked five shots Dec. 29 against Illinois-Chicago. He posted perhaps his best game at Illinois with 24 points and career-high 13 rebounds in the overtime victory over Seton Hall Dec. 9, and he posted a double-double against Missouri with 10 points and 11 boards and had 11 points and five rebounds vs. Texas.

Griffin had 16 points while coming just one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards against No. 1 Duke. The double-double that eluded him against the Blue Devils happened on Dec. 2 at Kansas State, when Griffin scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the victory. He led Illinois with 15 points in the victory over Arizona Dec. 16.

Frankly, He's Been Great
Illinois sophomore guard Frank Williams has played at an All-America level so far this season proving so by earning Big Ten Player of the Year and AP third-team All-America honors.

He earned All-Tournament team honors at Maui after scoring 22 points in a come-from-behind win over UNLV, 21 points against No. 6 Maryland, and a career-high 27 points against then-top-ranked Arizona in the title game. Against then-top-ranked Duke, he led the Illini with a team-high 19 points. Williams scored 21 points, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out five assists in 43 minutes against Seton Hall on Dec. 9. In the Braggin' Rights game vs. Missouri, Williams scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half and overtime in leading the Illini to victory.

Williams leads the team in scoring with an average of 14.7 points per game overall and 15.7 points in Big Ten play. He also leads the Illini in assists (140), steals (63), and is third in free throw shooting (126-158, .797). He has been Illinois' leading scorer in 13 of his 32 games on the year (UNLV, Maryland, Arizona, Duke, Ohio State, Iowa, Northwestern, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Minnesota, and Indiana).

Against Top 25 competition so far this season, Williams is averaging 19.4 points per game.

During the Big Ten season, Williams ranked third in the league in steals (1.80 avg.), seventh in assists (3.87 avg.), while ranking sixh in scoring (15.7 avg.). Williams also ranked 11th in free-throw percentage at .789 (60-76) and 15th in field-goal percentage at .446 (79-177).

Williams Big Ten P-O-W Honors
For the second time this season, sophomore guard Frank Williams was named Big Ten Player-of-the-Week, sharing honors with Michigan State's Jason Richardson on Feb. 19. Williams scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half to lead the Illini to a come-from-behind victory over Wisconsin on Feb. 13, then followed with 14 points in the victory over Indiana Feb. 17. He also earned player-of-the-week honors in November after leading the Illini to second place at the Maui Invitational.

McClain Shows All-Around Game
Senior Sergio McClain has proven himself as one of the top all-around players in the Big Ten. One of the outstanding defensive players in the league, McClain currently ranks fifth on the team in scoring at 7.5points per game, at 6-4 is the Illini's third-leading rebounder, pulling down 5.4 boards per game, and ranks second on the squad in assists (2.9 avg.) and steals (1.3 avg.).

On Jan. 13 against Michigan, McClain recorded just the second triple-double in Illinois basketball history when he scored 10 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and handed out 11 assists in a victory over the Wolverines.

McClain has tallied two other double-doubles, with 11 points and 11 rebounds against Duke and 10 points and 10 boards vs. Maryland. He also added 10 rebounds and nine boards, against Seton Hall and Missouri, respectively. His defensive effort against Duke helped hold preseason All-American Shane Battier to 11 points and 5 rebounds.

McClain is third on the Illinois career steals list with 207 thefts, 11 behind Kendall Gill for second on the all-time Illini list.

He also posted a solid line against Penn State on Jan. 20 with a team-leading 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

McClain Triple-Double Just Second for Illinois: Mark Smith was found to have the first recorded Illini triple-double when he scored 18 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and handed out 10 assists in a 67-57 win over Minnesota on Feb. 1, 1979. Sergio McClain's performance against Michigan is the second triple-double in Illini basketball history. Illinois assistant coach Rob Judson played in the first triple-double game in 1979 and celebrated his 42nd birthday on the second.

What's Cookin'
Illini sophomore Brian Cook has shown flashes of dominating ability this season, good enough to earn Second-Team All-Big Ten honors by the media and Third-Team All-Big Ten recognition by the Big Ten coaches.

The 2000 Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year opened the season strong with double-figure scoring in the first three games and a career-high 14 rebounds against UNLV. In games against Missouri and Texas, Cook erupted for 23 first-half points on his way to a new career-high 25 points and 11 rebounds against the Tigers, then had a team-high 18 points and six rebounds vs. the Longhorns two nights later to earn Big Ten Player of the Week honors.

In the Big Ten opener against Minnesota, Cook scored just seven points, but grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked a career-high six shots. He followed with 13 points in the victory over Ohio State. Cook led the Illini with 17 points in the victory over Michigan on Jan. 13. At Northwestern on Jan. 17, Cook posted his third double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Cook's fourth double-double of the year came at Penn State (1/31) when he exploded for 22 first-half point and ended the game with 10 rebounds and four blocks. He followed with a team-high 16 points and seven boards against Northwestern (2/3).

At 6-10, his versatility is evident in that he is shooting 38 percent (28-74) from three-point range and 55 percent (142-260) overall from the field. He ranks second on the team in rebounding at 6.2 boards per game and leads the team with 45 blocked shots.

In Big Ten games, Cook ranked fourth in the league in blocks at 1.63 per game, 19th in scoring (12.3 avg.), fourth in shooting percentage (.552), third in free-throw shooting (33-37, .892) and 11th in rebounding (6.2 avg). Also, in Big Ten games only, Cook ranked seventh in three-point field goal shooting (.400).

Over the last 17 games (since Jan. 13 vs. Michigan), Cook is averaging 12.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, while shooting .609 (67-110) from the field.

Cook Big Ten Player of the Week
After breakout games against Missouri and Texas late December, Brian Cook was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday, Dec. 25.

After missing his first shot against Missouri, Cook connected on his next 10 field goals. He had 23 points at the half and finished the game with a career high of 25, behind 10-14 shooting and a pair of treys. Cook also pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to finish with a double-double. Two nights later against Texas, Cook scored a team-high 18 points behind 6-7 shooting and was a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line, along with six rebounds.

In the two games on the week, Cook averaged 21.5 points and 8.5 rebounds.

Harrington Solid Off The Bench
Sophomore Sean Harrington has been solid coming off the bench this season. Over the last 15 games, he is 25-46 (.543) from three-point range, including a 4-5 performance against Northwestern on Feb. 3 and a 3-4 showing vs. Purdue on March 9.

Against Arizona on Nov. 22, Harrington came off the bench to score 15 points after making 5-9 three pointers. He followed that performance by shooting a perfect 6-6, including 5-5 from three-point range, in a new career-high scoring day against Texas Southern with 17 points. Against Arizona at the United Center on Dec. 16, Harrington was a perfect 3-3 from three-point land.

For the season, he is shooting .472 (50-106) from three-point range. He currently ranks first in the Big Ten (all games) in three-point field goal accuracy.

Harrington also had a school-record streak of nine consecutive made threes that originated at the 7:45 mark of the second half against Arizona and lasted until the 9:56 mark of the first half vs. K-State.

He received the first start of his Illini career Jan. 13 against Michigan when Frank Williams had to sit out with an injury. He responded with a career-high four steals.

St. Louis' Arch Presense in the Middle
Robert Archibald has been a key player off the Illinois bench, patrolling the paint on offense and defense. While foul problems have limited him to just 14.8 minutes per game, they have been productive ones for the 6-11 junior as he is averaging 6.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Archibald posted career highs with 16 points and 12 rebounds against Illinois-Chicago on Dec. 29. Archibald had nine points and eight rebounds against Maryland and 12 points on 6-6 shooting against Texas Southern. He scored six points and pulled down five rebounds in 10 minutes of action against Duke and on Dec. 2 he had nine points and five rebounds vs. K-State. Against Texas Archibald added seven points and four rebounds in 11 minutes.

In his second start of the season Jan. 20 against Penn State, Archibald responded with his second double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds, along with a career-high five blocked shots.

In 15 Big Ten games, Archibald ranked ninth in the league with an average of 1.13 blocks per game and 18th in rebounding (4.6 avg.), the highest of any non-starter in the conference.

Archibald sat out the Northwestern game on Feb. 3 with a sore back. He returned in strong fashion with seven points and four boards against Michigan State (Feb. 6) and 11 points and seven rebounds at Purdue (Feb. 10). In the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament, Archibald scored nine points on 3-3 shooting and 3-3 from the free throw line.

Illini Bench Key to Illini Wins
Illinois has gotten strong play from the bench in virtually every game this season. On the season, Illinois is outscoring the opposing bench by an average of eight points per game.

It's been sixth-man by committee so far this season with Robert Archibald, Lucas Johnson, Sean Harrington and Damir Krupalija all contributing off the bench.

Archibald ranks fourth on the team in rebounding with an average of 4.3 per game and has scored in double figures six times this season after scoring in double digits just three times his first two seasons.

Johnson ranks fourth on the team in assists (54), while continuing his typical high-energy style of play.

Harrington leads the Big Ten in three-point shooting on the season while ranking fourth on the team in steals.

Krupalija missed several games in November and December while recovering from an off-season knee injury. In Big Ten play, Krupalija averaged 4.8 points and 4.0 rebounds, while shooting 58 percent from the field. In the last 12 games (vs. Northwestern, Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern State and Charlotte), Krupalija is averaging 6.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.

Against Duke, Illinois' bench scored 18 points while the Blue Devils' bench went scoreless for the game. The trend continued against Seton Hall with the Illini bench posting a 19-9 advantage.

In the home Big Ten victories over Michigan and Penn State, the Illini bench outscored the Wolverines by a 30-13 margin and Penn State 35-23. On Jan. 25 at Michigan, the Illini bench outscored Michigan's 18-1. In the key victory over Michigan State on Feb. 6, the Illini bench outscored MSU's by 18-8.

Perhaps, the most impressive bench work was done at Indiana on Feb. 17. The Illini reserves outscored the Hoosier non-starters by a 30-5 count and out-rebounded Indiana's reserves 20-2. In the Feb. 24 win over Iowa, the Illini bench outscored Iowa's by a 37-14.

Williams Big Ten Player of the Week
After leading the Fighting Illini to a 3-1 record, with victories over Maine, UNLV, #6 Maryland and a near upset of #1 Arizona, point guard Frank Williams was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on Nov. 27, sharing the award with Penn State's Joe Crispin.

His personal contributions to Illinois' strong start included an average of 20 points, five rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.0 steals per game. Williams tallied a career-high 22 points, along with six rebounds, six assists and five steals in the victory over UNLV in the opening round at Maui, and he set a new career high two days later with 27 points, including eight in the final minute, in the championship against Arizona.

Bradford, Williams on Wooden List
Illinois' Cory Bradford and Frank Williams are among 20 players on the list of finalists for the 2001 Wooden Award All-American team. Bradford, the 2000-01 Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year, is on the list for the second consecutive season. Bradford earned Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year honors from both the media and Big Ten coaches. He also earned a place on the Preseason All-Big Ten First Team.

Bradford led the Illini last year with 15.3 ppg and broke the school record for three pointers in a season with 96. He earned a spot on the All-Big Ten Second Team.

Williams has been outstanding in big games. He is averaging nearly 20 points per game against ranked teams.

Illini Schedule
Illinois played unquestionably the toughest non-conference schedule in school history in 2000-01. In November and December, the Illini took on five Top 10 teams in No. 6 Maryland, No. 1 Arizona, No. 1 Duke, No. 7 Seton Hall, and No. 7 Arizona. The Illini also faced two teams that have been receiving votes throughout the season in Missouri and Texas. In fact, the Longhorns jumped into the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll after defeating the Illini Dec. 23. Iowa was ranked No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll when the two teams met Jan. 11.

The latest RPI Rankings (March 12) had the Illinois schedule No. 10 in the nation, while the Illini themselves were ranked sixth.

Illini Sign Two During Fall Period
Illinois signed two future student-athletes to national letters of intent in November. Roger Powell (6-6, F, Joliet, Ill., Township High School) and Luther Head (6-3, G, Chicago Manley High School) both signed on Nov. 8, the first day of the fall signing period. Both players were named First-Team All-State (Top 5) by the Associated Press following the 2001 season. Illinois has one available scholarship to offer in the spring.