March 20, 2004
By Associated Press
GAME: No. 5 Illinois (25-6) vs. No. 4 Cincinnati (25-6).
REGIONAL: Atlanta, Second Round.
TIME: Sunday, 2:30 p.m. EST.
SITE: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio.
The last thing Cincinnati wants to see is another quick guard, but that is exactly what awaits the Bearcats in the second round.
The fourth-seeded Bearcats try to find a way to slow Dee Brown when they face No. 5 Illinois in the second round of the Atlanta Regional.
Cincinnati was never able to contain East Tennessee State's Tim Smith on Thursday, and it almost sent the Bearcats to another early tournament exit.
Smith used his speed to score 26 points, but Cincinnati's Tony Bobbitt made a 3-pointer with 16.1 seconds left as the Bearcats avoided the upset with an 80-77 victory.
The Bearcats will likely find Brown, one of college basketball's quickest players, to be as hard to stop as Smith was.
"Dee's really fast," Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins said. "I hope he's not that fast."
Brown scored 21 points Friday, helping Illinois pull away from Murray State for a 72-53 victory. The Illini rebounded from their loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game to win for the 13th time in 14 games.
Brown and fellow guard Deron Williams continue to be the catalysts for the Illini. Williams averages 13.6 points, Brown adds 13.3, and the two combine for 10.5 assists per game.
The game matches a pair of conference champions. Cincinnati was part of a five-way tie for the Conference USA title, while Illinois won its first outright Big Ten crown 52 years.
Of course, it was a down year in the Big Ten, which has only two teams remaining in the NCAA tournament. The Illini know they can help boost the league's reputation with a good performance this month.
"I think that's a big role," forward James Augustine said. "We want to represent the Big Ten as well as we can, but we're kind of in it for ourselves now. We've got to be kind of a selfish team."
Cincinnati also has a reputation to improve - its own. The Bearcats have failed to make it past the first weekend of the tournament in six of the last seven years.
The teams are meeting for just the second time. Cincinnati won during the 1962-63 season, and Illinois' victory came in 1984-85.
The winner advances to face top-seeded Duke on Friday night at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Illinois - F Augustine (9.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg), F Roger Powell (11.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg), G Luther Head (11.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg), G Williams (13.6 ppg, 6.1 apg), G Brown (13.3 ppg, 4.4 apg). Cincinnati - F Armein Kirkland (6.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg), F Jason Maxiell (13.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg), C Kareem Johnson (5.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg), G Field Williams (11.7 ppg, 2.2 apg), G James White (8.2 ppg, 3.5 apg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Illinois - At-large berth; beat No. 12 Murray State 72-53, first round. Cincinnati - Automatic bid, Conference USA champion; beat No. 13 East Tennessee State 80-77, first round.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Illinois - 31-24, 24 years. Cincinnati - 39-22, 22 years.
