You know what sucks....

[SluSignGuy]

....When you get home from the Championship Game and get an e-mail that shows that you would have won $200 in a Bracket Pool if Illinois would have won tonight.

I am sure there are people who are much more saddened than I...But being that close sucks!

Steve

[billiken_roy]

i thought that williams just outcoached weber. the illini looked like they had never seen a zone before. and granted augustine hardly played, the illini made no effort to even try to get the ball inside. i would have liked to have seen how powell would have faired going to the rim more. the way they called the game, i gotta believe the illini would have drawn some fouls had they done so.

a real gutsy call by williams was benching mccants in th esecond half. the illini were coming back and mainly the result of north carolina not being patient (mccants jacking up the shots). he pulled mccants, got baskets like 3 straight trips by giving it to may and re-established control of the game. meanwhile the illini continued to audition for a 3 point contest. 40 shots! i think most teams average less than 20 3 point attempts per game.

last, augustine last two fouls were just stupid. the refs had already demonstrated they were calling all the nick nack stuff, so why reach in for the 4th foul on a help. and then the 5th was just the worst. there he was getting all physical with williams right in front of the refs. dumb.

all in all, i think it was as enjoyable of an ncaa tourney as i can remember in a long long time though. too bad the illini quit playing their game the last game of the season. however, to give credit to north carolina, they have 4 probably first round picks and maybe 5 (jawad williams is probably second round). that is a lot of talent for one team.

[kwyjibo]

>augustine hardly played,

This is an aside but I misread this (obviously accurate) comment as "played hard" which I made me laugh because I thought Roy was making a twisted sarcastic comment. 5 Fouls in 9 minutes, now that's working hard!

[billiken_roy]

if i had to rank reasons that the illini lost, augustine not playing is number one. he did it to himself though. you cant come back with 3 or 4 fouls and play the same way with that much time left on the clock and those two fouls just shocked me that he would be that stupid to even commit those at that time in the game. if they had been fouls away from the ball where there was no focus, one could b!tch, but both were fouls right in the main stream of action that probably had the refs doing a double take.

[slufanskip]

They certainly weren't calling touch fouls on May. I have never seen a player allowed to lower his shoulder and bull rush people without ever getting called.

One thing I haven't heard anyone say yet is that Felton touched the line and then came back to the back court right before the Illini's last foul. I paused the TV his entire foot was on the line. The Illini should have had the ball back down 3.

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[tseugnekillib]

If Illinois three star guards just have their average shooting night from the 3pt line, the game is a different story. Instead, Williams goes 3-10, Head goes 5-16, and Brown goes 2-8. In the biggest game of their life, their shooting was below average. Augustine's dumb fouls also hurt big time. Did Weber get outcoached.....well, with two minutes to go your 70-70, but then your best players can't make a bucket after that.

[billiken_roy]

skip said, "They certainly weren't calling touch fouls on May."

how would we know? the illini never took the ball inside. they were too busy hoisting a record ncaa tourney record 40 threes.

[billiken_roy]

had weber had his team prepared for multiple defenses in the first half, the illini would not have had near the hill to climb in the second half.

[slufanskip]

Illini lives by shooting the 3 ... they got open 1st half looks and just missed. It's hard to get the ball inside with your starting center on the bench. Maybe if they would have called the same calls on May ... he would have been on the bench also and they would have been able to go inside more effectively.

Also if the refs call Felton for over and back ... The Illini get another shot ... if they make it they are in overtime.

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[BillikenButch]

If the refs call any of multiple moving screen fouls on the Illini the game is a runaway winner for Carolina. "No calls" went both ways.

I know the Illini are a outside shooting team, but had they made May play any defense, they would have had a better shot at winning the game.

[courtside]

Let me preface by saying I was indifferent on all Final Four teams...gasp even Louisville...chuckle chuckle...but I seriously was indifferent.

Skip, I couldn't disagree more(respectfully however about May)...someone sitting near me said the same thing...but I even went back and watched tape of the game...and several times May did drop the shoulder...on offense...but EVERY single time...the Illini defefnder just backed up instead of allowing any contact...intimidated would be a word coming to mind. I strongly believe the game was very well officiated for the most part, and was called evenly...something I was very thankful for. Roy is right imo, all of the calls on Augustine were legit and needed to be called. Weber falling over on the one call when clearly it was a stupid reach in the lane for Augustine...got a chuckle on that one, at least Bruce tried to sell it.(off topic, but I think Soderberg worries too much during games on calls...back to topic)....

Illinois has(had) three very good shooters, most teams don't have three very good ones, and most teams don't have the spacing, motion, and don't make the extra pass, which Illinois does each time. Augustine had some nice tourney games, but that wasn't one. And no depth hurts. Illinois doesn't go inside, even off of the dribble, and they didn't again on Mon. And they still almost won.

IMO UNC had more talent, it was a matter of...would UNC come out ready to play, answer yes, and could match Illinois in talent and play. Williams made adjustments defensively mixing defenses at appropriate times. There were lapses when UNC should have switched more, later in the game...but they were solid. May had a great game. If Illinois doesn't win those loose balls, and long rebounds earlier in the game and in the middle, they lose by a lot more imo. It wasn't the best played game, but hard fought and exciting. Over 40 3's for Illinois, and they still almost won the tourney. ...without much inside besides Powell.

[slufanskip]

Yes we will have to disagree ... I watched the tape again also, the 1st time he lowered his shoulder he knocked Powell (I think) over and ended up with an easy bucket. He doesn't have to knock a player down with his shoulder ... he can't create space by lowering it and bullying people and he did consistently. He also held off the defender clearly with his off hand on entry passes ... not just a little.

I agree Augustine committed his fouls, but I don't get why worse fouls were not called on May. Both teams should have had there starting centers on the bench in fouls trouble, not just the Illini.

Games frequently cone down to 1 play and Felton should have been called for stepping on the half court line at the end of the game and going back ... he wasn't. The Illini should have had a last attempt at a 3. If they would have made that and then went on to win ... everyone would be talking about their great 3 point shooting and how you don't really need a great center to win.

Also CBS should not have pACCker anouncing any game in which an ACC team plays ... he is so over the top biased it ridiculous. His statements on illegal screens were way off base. What he was claiming were illegal screens are commonplace in all basketball today. They didn't set the screens and then release with the dribbler following them creating an escort to the hole ... what they were doing was setting them ever so slightly late ... again watch any college basketball game and tell me 90% of the screens set aren't set the same way ... but Packer has to keep saying it over and over as the Illini are fighting there way back into the game. He was making excuses for a UNC loss ... just in case.

Those claiming the Illini should have thrown the ball inside more IMO are off base. The Illini played just as they have all season. Move the ball quickly and take the open look when you get it. They just didn't hit in the first half and built themselves to big of a hole to come back from. ... but even with that they should have had the ball back for 1 more possession and a chance to tie.

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[billiken_roy]

skip just theorizing, but the "fouls" that you are asking why not called on may would have been offensive fouls. all of augustines were defensive fouls. it the illini wanted the calls, they should have given may a chance to foul while playing defense instead of hoisting multitudes of missed threes. powell came up big the game before, they should have given him the ball.

[BillikenButch]

Don't complain about Packer making excuses for a potential UNC loss when you are doing the same thing about the Illini's actual loss. UNC clearly was the better team that night. As in every game there are several "what-ifs" as you propose, but I think they were pretty evenly balanced in this game.

I agree it is too bad they didn't go to Powell inside. May was tiring in the last 10 minutes of the game and the inside was exploitable.

[slufanskip]

I'm on a message board ... Packer was announcing the game on CBS.

I believe there is a rather large difference.

IF UNC was the better team why did the Illini have a shot at the buzzer to tie and if a call was made correctly in the last 10 seconds or so ... they should have gotten the ball back for another try. I am not really an Illini fan ... I just didn't like ... from the beginning of the game what they were letting May get away with. The obvious offensive fouls should have been called and he would have had to adjust his game or sat the bench awhile in foul trouble.

I thought UNC played as well as I have seen them ... and Brown and Williams shot poorly for the Illini along with the foul trouble on Augustine (which I agree should have been called) resulted in a less than steller game for the Illini ... but still the game came down to the last few seconds. I don't see that UNC is the better team ... though they won the game.

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[billiken_roy]

unc without a doubt is not the better "team". however, in the next few years the number of first round draft choices from the two teams will be a big edge to unc. marvin williams is likely a top 3 pick this year. mccants will be a first round pick. may would be a lottery pick if he came out. felton is a first round pick if he comes out. imo, only williams is a for sure first round pick, maybe brown on the illini.

[BillikenButch]

"better team that night" was the exact quote

[BillikenButch]

If Illinois was the better team that night:

why were they down the entire game?

why did they play a one-dimensional game?

why did they miss the shot?

I personally believe that if they played 10 times, the outcome would be even, but when you live by the 3, you ultimately die by the 3 and it happened on Monday.

As for Packer, I cannot stand the guy. But he is telling it like he sees it, which is his job. For some reason CBS wants him to do that. I think they could upgrade, but I'd hope whoever the upgraded to would also tell it like they see it.

[slufanskip]

I didn't read your statement right ... but I think it was a horribly officiated game ... May was left in when he should have been on the bench in foul trouble.

Packer calls it as he sees it through ACC eyes. He is biased.

Illini's "illegal screens" were no different than every team in the country does and is never called. What May was doing is called in most every game except that one. That is why I have a problem. I also can't believe they missed Felton stepping on the line ... someone has to be watching for that ... with another shot at a 3 ... who knows what the outcome would have been, and they should have gotten the shot.

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[billiken_roy]

SKIP SAID, "with another shot at a 3"

might as well hoist another one. they already had shot 40 of em and missed most of them.