Illini

GREENSBORO, N.C. Wichita State ended an 18 -year absence from the NCAA tournament in style, as the Shockers outclassed Seton Hall, 86-66, yesterday at the Greensboro Coliseum. Seventh-seeded Wichita State never trailed, went ahead for good in the third minute, doubled the score late in the first half and never allowed the Pirates to get closer than 11 in the second. The Shockers got 23 points from sophomore guard Sean Ogirri and 15 and seven rebounds from senior center Paul Miller. The game paired two conferences of note.

Illinois coach Bruce Weber must wear a protective boot for a few more weeks as he mends the ankle he broke on the morning of Nov. 28, the day the Fighting Illini traveled to North Carolina. Chester Frazier, his backup point guard from Baltimore, is out with a thigh injury. Dee Brown appears to be picking up speed, however, which is welcome news for the nation's somewhat surprising No. 9 team. Brown was part of the three-guard attack that took Illinois to a 29-0 start and its first NCAA final last season.

FOUR HUNDRED YEARS ago, middle America was populated by a group of native tribes known as the Illini. They were among history's first underdogs - hunters and farmers outmanned by war, disease and displacement. There were once 12,000 Illini in the area. Today, there are none. That is, if you don't count the guy who entertains the University of Illinois sports crowds by pretending to be a whooping Illini chief, dressing like a caricature and dancing like a fool. He's historically inaccurate.

ST. LOUIS - Junior center Sean May put North Carolina in control of last night's NCAA final. Marvin Williams, the freshman who may not be long for college basketball, rescued the Tar Heels after Illinois showed what it is made of. With Williams scoring the winning points on a left-handed put-back, North Carolina ended a long wait - and a longer one for coach Roy Williams - with a 75-70 conquest of the top-ranked Fighting Illini in a distinctive NCAA...

ST. LOUIS -- In another 15 years, Bruce Weber may be in the same frame of mind Roy Williams is in right now. The Illinois coach might have a dozen quips, barbs and anecdotes at the ready to answer the familiar refrain of questions about whether this Final Four trip, at long last, will result in his cutting down the nets instead of his frowning through a post-game interview in the losing locker room. One day, that frowning coach might be Weber. That is, unless Weber's Illini beat Williams' North Carolina team tonight.

ST. LOUIS - Some of the most enduring moments from college basketball's championship game involve North Carolina. In 1957, the Tar Heels needed three overtimes to subdue Kansas and Wilt Chamberlain. Michael Jordan's jumper from the left side topped Georgetown in 1982. Michigan's Chris Webber gifted them with a bonehead timeout in 1993. Did any of those games enjoy the anticipation that accompanies tonight's NCAA tournament final between the Tar Heels and Illinois? "The basketball gods looked over college basketball this year," Fighting Illini coach Bruce Weber said.

Tonight's title game Illinois (37-1) vs. North Carolina (32-4) Time: 9:21. Site: Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis. TV: Chs. 13, 9. Line: North Carolina by 2 1/2 . How they got here: Illinois won the Chicago Regional as the No. 1 seed. The Illini defeated No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson, 67-55; No. 9 seed Nevada, 71-59; No. 12 seed Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 77-63, and No. 3 seed Arizona, 90-89 (OT). In a national semifinal, Illinois defeated Louisville, 72-57. North Carolina won the Syracuse Regional as the No. 1 seed.

ST. LOUIS - Nothing Illinois could do last night in the national semifinal against Louisville could have topped the drama of what it did a week earlier in the regional final, storming back from 15 points down in the last four minutes of regulation against Arizona. If ever there were a snapshot of the poise this team possesses, it was taken that night in Chicago. By comparison, last night was just another game. That's the way the Illini approached it, that's the way they played it, and that's the way they practically strolled into tomorrow's national championship game.

ST. LOUIS - In the end, it was more about defense than destiny, more about its selfless supporting cast than its two biggest stars. The Illinois basketball team has started and ended every practice since October with the chant "national champion" and now the Fighting Illini are one step away from their goal. With second-half offensive explosions from Roger Powell Jr. and Luther Head, a lot of defense and a little of everything from everybody else, the top-ranked Fighting Illini took down Louisville, 72-57, last night in front of 47,754 at the Edward Jones Dome in the national semifinal and advanced to their first-ever national championship game.

Illinois (36-1) vs. Louisville (33-4) Time, TV: 6:07 p.m., chs. 13, 9 How they got here: Illinois won the Chicago Regional as the No. 1 seed. The Illini defeated No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson, 67-55, No. 9 Nevada, 71-59, No. 12 Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 77-63, and No. 3 Arizona, 90-89 (OT). Louisville won the Albuquerque Regional as the No. 4 seed. The Cardinals defeated No. 13 Louisiana-Lafayette, 68-62, No. 5 Georgia Tech, 76-54, No. 1 Washington, 93-79, and No. 7 West Virginia, 93-85 (OT).