Illini

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Their roar could be heard all the way to Champaign, Ill. Fans, cheering raucously, poured onto the court for an impromptu party, and Illinois' basketball players hated every second of it. The top-ranked Illini left Value City Arena looking grim and more vulnerable than ever after Ohio State socked them with a 65-64 loss yesterday in a gripping finish. Illinois (29-1, 15-1 Big Ten), the most celebrated team in the country, failed to get the buzzer-beating basket it needed to win its 30th straight game and continue an unblemished run into the record books.

Dee Brown backpedaled with his right arm held high and wrist cocked after making a three-pointer. It was a sight No. 1 Illinois forced host Michigan State to get used to last night. Luther Head scored 22 points, Brown had 18 and the Fighting Illini made 13 three-pointers to remain undefeated with an 81-68 victory over the 12th-ranked Spartans. "In the warmups, I shot two air balls and the fans started talking trash," Brown said. "When people start talking trash, it just puts fuel in my tank.

ATLANTA - Illinois coach Bruce Weber has a foolproof plan for beating Duke tonight in the Atlanta Regional semifinals. "It would be nice to duplicate what we did against Cincinnati," he said yesterday. The fifth-seeded Illini (26-6) were virtually flawless in their 92-68 second-round demolition of the Bearcats on Sunday. Illinois shot a season-best 63.6 percent, made 11 of 19 three-point shots, had 26 assists and committed only four turnovers. But no team has approached such efficiency against top-seeded Duke (29-5)

COLUMBUS, Ohio - As soon as Deron Williams released the ball on his fourth three-pointer, teammate Luther Head had both arms up to tell the world it was going to swish through the net. Not even five minutes into the game, Roger Powell raised his clenched fists after connecting on his jump shots. Dee Brown stole the ball from Cincinnati's Field Williams and headed straight to the basket, wrapping the ball around his back just before scoring on a reverse layup. Illinois had never looked better.

Roger Powell and Luther Head combined for 35 points to lead No. 14 Illinois to its 20th straight home win, an 85-43 decision over visiting UMES in men's college basketball last night. The Fighting Illini (5-2) scored the first 16 points, and the Hawks (0-2) missed their first 12 shots. Tee Trotter led UMES (0-2) with 12 points. Widener 78, St. Mary's 64: Donovan Gaspard led all scorers with 20 points, but the Seahawks (1-5) fell short in Chester, Pa. The Pioneers (6-0) shot 41.4 percent from the field to take a 35-27 lead at the half.

The grill. Symbol of masculine culinary endeavors. Throwback to the days of cavemen cooking woolly mammoth over an open flame. It is the sound of hamburgers sizzling, the aroma of juicy sausages, the unmistakable taste of flame-broiled steak. Perhaps the only setting in which a man shows more gusto than in his outdoor kitchen is at his favorite sporting event. Now, with the Stainless Steel Collegiate Grill, your favorite griller can have it all. Along with its 18-by-24-inch cooking surface and 50,000 BTUs, this gas grill haughtily displays its owner's team spirit with his favorite college's logo and colors.

INDIANAPOLIS - By the end the drama had dissipated. The final buzzer merely confirmed what the previous 40 minutes of basketball had amply illustrated - that this court, this game, this day, belonged to Notre Dame. Yesterday's 68-60 victory over Illinois in the second round of the West Regional at the RCA Dome earned the Irish their first Sweet 16 trip since 1987. Though the game was a distinct tale of two halves, the futility carried through from beginning to end for the Illini (25-7)

MADISON, Wis. - Revenge was sweet in the Sweet 16 for Kansas last night, even if it did take the Jayhawks a year to find it. A year after being knocked out by top seed Illinois as the fourth seed in the semifinals of the Midwest Regional in San Antonio, top-seeded Kansas returned the disfavor to the fourth-seeded Fighting Illini last night at the Kohl Center with a thrilling, 73-69 victory. A pair of free throws by freshman swingman Keith Langford with 2.8 seconds left secured the win, sending Kansas (32-3)

MADISON, Wis. - Ever since CBS analyst Billy Packer made some disparaging remarks about Illinois point guard Frank Williams back in early February, Fighting Illini coach Bill Self has tried to defuse what could make for an interesting sidelight should his team make it to the Final Four. Packer said that Williams, during an erratic, 19-point performance in a loss at home to Michigan State, "played like a dog." Asked again about the incident yesterday, Self said, "I know Billy has a job to do, but he stepped out of bounds in doing it. I think Frank in that particular situation could have obviously played better, but to refer to a player as an animal is not really appropriate."

COLLEGE PARK - Senior guard Juan Dixon, solid since the start of the season, played his best all-around game of the year. Junior backup guard Drew Nicholas shook off a four-game slump to produce his finest effort. Junior point guard Steve Blake just missed a double double and recorded a career-high four blocked shots, one of the signatures of a superb night for the Maryland Terrapins' defense. But the player who left the most indelible mark on No. 5 Maryland's 76-63 pasting of No. 2 Illinois on Tuesday was 6-foot-10 sophomore forward/center Chris Wilcox, who came off the bench and was an interior nightmare for the Fighting Illini with a career-high 19 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.