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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) – A bank shot, a dunk, a pair of 3's, a
10-point lead in the blink of an eye. All Illinois needed was 100
seconds to demonstrate the difference between a play-in team and a
premier team.
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Fri, March 16
This was a total M&Mer – a mismatch.
Illinois has to be excited that Brian Cook bounced back from his recent slump with 15
points. On the interior, Marcus Griffin was sensational. They had balanced defense and
just too much talent as they overwhelmed Northwestern State.
The other good news for the Illini was that Cory Bradford found his jumpshot. It has
been missing in action, baby, but he found it Friday and knocked down four trifectas.
They're going to need that from Bradford as they look to their matchup in the next round
with Charlotte.
More ...
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The Midwest Region's top-seeded team swatted away the NCAA
Tournament's lowest Friday, using size and savvy to beat
Northwestern
State 96-54 in a first-round game.
Illinois (25-7) ran to a 10-0 lead in the opening 1:40, a blitz
that dazzled the Demons (19-13) and let them know there would be no
upset.
The unheralded team that left Louisiana in a pre-dawn
thunderstorm last Monday, munching breakfast sandwiches on the bus,
sat silently on benches in the dressing room and ate more
sandwiches as the loss sunk in.
"It's just hard to stop a big train when it gets going, and
that's what happened," said guard Michael Byars-Dawson, who was
only 1-of-8 from the field.
Midway through the first half, Illinois was up by 22 points and
substituting so freely that it had only one starter on the floor at
times.
Marcus Griffin scored 16 points, leading six players in double
figures for Illinois. The Illini also dominated the boards 44-27,
scoring half of their points from in the key against the diminutive
Demons.
Northwestern State's D'or Fischer, who had nine blocks –
third-most in tournament history – during the play-in victory,
swatted away three shots but couldn't prevent the Illini from
scoring regularly on power moves to the basket.
|  | | The Illini's Marcus Griffin puts the finishing touches on his 16-point performance in Friday's win over Northwestern State. |
"Certainly I know it's a helpless feeling, but I've been in
those shoes," said Illinois' Bill Self, who also has coached at
Oral Roberts and Tulsa. "We're realistic enough to know that they
were scrappy, but we had a size advantage and it will be very
different against whoever we play next."
Up next is either Charlotte or Tennessee, who met in the other
first-round afternoon game.
Illinois' only setback came midway through the first half, when
forward Sergio McClain bruised his right shin and had to be helped
off the floor by two teammates. He got the leg iced and didn't
return.
X-rays found no fracture, and Self expected McClain to play in
the second-round game on Sunday.
Northwestern State won a novel play-in game against Winthrop on
Tuesday, becoming a footnote to NCAA Tournament history. The Demons
then set out to pull off a major upset – no 16th seed has ever
beaten a No. 1.
It didn't take them long to size up their predicament. During
pregame warmups, the much smaller Demons swiveled their heads to
check out the Illini, who were ignoring them while making layups.
One hundred seconds after the tip-off, Northwestern State was
down 10-0 and calling a timeout. Illinois made its first four
shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, and pulled off a fastbreak
dunk that sent a message.
Frank Williams, the Big Ten's player of the year, stole a
crosscourt pass by Josh Hancock and headed for the basket. As
Hancock closed, Williams smoothly flipped a no-look pass behind his
back to a trailing Griffin, who finished the play with an emphatic
dunk.
"When a very talented team gets in that position, it makes it
very difficult for a group like ours to come back," Northwestern
State coach Mike McConathy said. "If a team gets ahead and they're
able to get the ball inside for easy baskets, it's very difficult
for you to rally."
Griffin had two dunks and a putback during an 11-1 run early in
the second half that pushed the lead to 25 points. The Southland
Conference champions realized their first NCAA Tournament
appearance was approaching an end.
"We had to be intimidators inside," Griffin said. "I just
tried to be a presence."
Illinois is fighting its history of early flameouts. Since
reaching the Final Four in 1989, the Illini have failed to make it
past the second round in seven consecutive appearances.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Northwestern State Clubhouse
Illinois Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Illinois guard Cory Bradford says Northwestern State played with a lot of poise.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Illinois coach Bill Self recaps his team's first-round win over Northwestern State.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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