April 5, 2005

By Rob Miech
Special to CSTV.com from The Sports Xchange

Just when the NCAA Tournament threatened to end on an anticlimactic note, as North Carolina threatened to run away with the final 20 minutes of the college basketball season, Illinois made the Tar Heels work for their fourth national title.

In the end, coach Roy Williams, who won his first national championship in his second year back at his alma mater, soothed his charges while demanding a commitment to defense.

"I didn't sit back and say, 'Oh, gosh. We're going to lose,' '' he said. "But (the Illini) didn't go 37-1 by being lucky.''

Williams knew the Illini likes the 3-point shot, and he also knew if the Heels could push it and run with regularity that the Illinois players just might be a bit tired and just might not have their legs when they need them most, in the last four minutes of both halves.

The game -- the first national championship between the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the final poll in 30 years -- followed Williams' script, as Illinois did not score in the final 2 1/2 minutes of its 75-70 defeat to North Carolina at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

"We knew they liked to shoot 3s,'' Williams said of the Illini, who made 12 of the 40 3-point shots they attempted. Kentucky, with 30 in 1997, had recorded the previous high mark for 3-pointers launched in a title game.

"But I've always felt, to win a national championship, you have to have balance, an inside game ... that's North Carolina basketball.''

And that's Sean May, the junior who bulled his way to 26 points and 10 rebounds, causing all kinds of havoc for Illinois junior forward James Augustine, who ultimately fouled out, without scoring, in only nine minutes.

During a scintillating regional finals weekend, North Carolina was the only team that did not need an extra period to advance to the national semifinals. Saturday, both the Tar Heels and Illini rattled off convincing victories over Michigan State and Louisville, respectively.

Then Illinois looked rattled during Monday's first half, in which it twice allowed Carolina easy baskets on inbounds plays under its own rim, lazily threw the ball away 25 feet from its own basket and committed a shot-clock violation a few ticks before halftime.

"We were on our heels,'' said Illinois coach Bruce Weber.

The Illini trailed 42-27 after Carolina scored on its first possession of the second half, but Weber's squad didn't wilt. Heck, it had staged that furious rally from 15 down with 4 minutes left against Arizona, so 19 minutes seemed like an eternity.

Luther Head tied it at 70 when he drilled a 3-pointer with 2:32 left, but the Illini had nothing left, as Williams had predicted.

"We had shots, open shots,'' Weber said. "We just never got over the hump.''

Only three other teams had gone to a Final Four with 37 victories. Curiously, Duke (in 1999 and '86) and Nevada-Las Vegas (in '87), like Illinois, also failed to win championships.

North Carolina won by weathering the expected Illinois rally, an outstanding effort by May that paced his team and some calm words by its coach when it mattered most.

"They'll have these moments, thrills and memories,'' Williams said, "for the rest of their lives.''

HIDDEN GEM: Williams revealed that, before the Heels traveled to St. Louis, he ran two 45-minute practices after he had the rims removed from the baskets. That forced his players to focus on defense, which was the foundation to its success Saturday and Monday.

MAN OF THE MOMENT: North Carolina forward Sean May will have to reconsider his snap decision to return to Chapel Hill for his senior season, something he all but guaranteed recently. Then came his MOP performance over the weekend in St. Louis.

Monday, he had 26 points and 10 boards. He also turned 21 on Monday and said he planned to celebrate with a friend who had brought a special bottle of Dom Perignon to St. Louis. Now, he's the son of an MOP, too. His pop, Scott, led Indiana to its undefeated season in 1976.

"He told me, 'You've been playing long enough. You know what to do. I love you and I'm proud of you. Now get it done,' '' Sean said. "But afterward, he had ducked into a corner. He's shy sometimes ... but I've always tried to live up to my father's expectations.''

ILLINOIS QUOTE TO NOTE: "If you wouldn't be happy with that, then I feel sorry for you. Life doesn't get much better.'' -- Illini coach Bruce Weber on his team occupying the No. 1 ranking all year and then advancing to the NCAA title game.

NORTH CAROLINA QUOTE TO NOTE: "We didn't care what other people said. We wanted it for ourselves.'' -- Tar Heels coach Roy Williams on recent criticism he and his players had heard.