March 19, 2002

By JASON STRAIT
Associated Press Writer

CHAMPAIGN, Ill (AP) - A year ago, when Illinois defeated Kansas to reach the regional finals of the NCAA tournament, 12 players outmuscled the thinner roster of the Jayhawks.

Kansas is the team with the depth and expectations this time around.

The Illini won't be favored again when they face the top-seeded Jayhawks on Friday in Madison, Wis.

"They have proven to be the best team in the country over the course of the season so far. We're definitely going in there with a predator mentality, that we're the team that has something to prove," Illinois center Robert Archibald said.

Illinois rotated players in and out of the lineup last year in its 80-64 tournament win over Kansas, outscoring the Kansas reserves 28-0. The Jayhawks couldn't keep up from the field or at the foul line as they made just 18 of 35 free throws and were outrebounded 45-33.

However, depth is no longer a strength for Illinois.

The Illini lost bangers Sergio McClain and Marcus Griffin and haven't found any big bodies to replace them. Bill Self relies on an eight-player rotation, using holdover forwards Lucas Johnson and Damir Krupalija and junior guard Sean Harrington as his reserves.

Kansas coach Roy Williams says the Illini may have lost some depth, but doubts they lost their bruising style of play.

"They have lost a couple of those guys, but I still think they are a very physical team," Williams said. "They beat us in every aspect of the game (last year). They just dominated us."

Illinois has rebounded from a midseason slide when it lost three in a row and five of eight. The Illini have won 11 of 12 games, including double-digit tournament wins over San Diego State and Creighton last weekend in Chicago.

The key, as it has been all season, is Frank Williams. The flashy guard has been as good down the stretch as he was bad during the midseason slide, scoring 25 points in the win over the Aztecs and 20 against Creighton.

The junior, who is leaving Illinois after the season to go to the NBA, says he isn't ready to end his college career just yet.

"Guys have been playing good for over a month now. That's how we're going to continue to play. We're going to try and make it a fair game, but we know that's a good team - that's a great team," Williams said.

"They're not going to bow down to us and we're not going to bow down to them."

Defending Williams likely will be Kansas guard Kirk Hinrich - if he's healthy.

Hinrich sprained his left ankle in Kansas' opening-round win over Holy Cross. He wore a brace on the ankle on Saturday and stunned doctors and fans by scoring 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the 86-63 win over Stanford.

"I don't think it's completely behind him. There still is a lot of discoloration. If we had to play a game today, then yes, he would play. But the good news is we don't have to play, so we're going to give him some rest," Williams said.

With a healthy Hinrich, Kansas will be the favorite. And that doesn't bother Illinois' Williams a bit.

"It's not going to be like we're supposed to win. Now we're the underdogs. That's how we've go to approach every game," he said.