March 15, 2002
By RICK GANO
AP Sports Writer
CHICAGO - Frank Williams tuned in early and didn't drift off. His put his various skills on full display and lifted Illinois into the second round of the Midwest Regional.
Williams, whose talent sometimes is overshadowed by an attitude toward the game that has been questioned, scored 25 points and had eight assists Friday to lead the fourth-seeded Illini to an easy 93-64 victory over San Diego State.
"This is my last year and I want to go out with a bang. Guys have been talking about this for a long time, and now this time has come," Williams said.
"You've got to take this as far as you can go."
His critics have wondered why Williams seems to turn it on at certain times and not at others, and if his inconsistencies will cost him positioning in the draft. He came back to school this season, waiting a year to go to the NBA.
Williams says he doesn't care, and his performance Friday was not a notice to those who have questioned him.
"I didn't use that really. That's just something in my personality. I just go out and play to the best of my ability when there's a challenge," Williams said.
"I know it's time to play."
Illinois, 15-6 at the United Center since it opened in 1994, enjoyed the benefits of the NCAA's new format that allows some teams to stay closer to home in the opening rounds.
With 10 wins in its last 11 games, Illinois (25-8) moves on to meet Creighton (23-8) on Sunday. The 12th-seeded Bluejays got a Michael Jordan-like performance from No. 23 Terrell Taylor, whose last-second 3-pointer in the second overtime beat Florida 83-82.
Williams had a career-high five 3-pointers and made back-to-back alley-oop passes in the second half for dunks by freshman Luther Head, who scored a career-high 19 points.
"You'll think Frank played unbelievable today because he made shots," Illinois coach Bill Self said. "I like how he played defense. I like him running through passes. I like how he got teammates the ball as much as he made shots."
San Diego State, in its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1985, couldn't handle the Illini's physical defense and aggressive rebounding or stop Illinois, which shot 59 percent.
"We were beaten by the best team we've played all year," San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said, shrugging off the Illini's home-court advantage.
"If you're a good team and you're playing well, it doesn't matter if you're playing at the Assembly Hall or the United Center. I'm sure it helped them a little with the fans," Fisher said. "But if they play with that fervor and confidence, they are going to be a tough outing for anybody."
The 13th-seeded Aztecs (21-12) got 27 points from Al Faux and 18 from Tony Bland but were beaten 41-26 on the boards. They also made just 39 percent of their shots to 59 percent for Illinois.
Williams got started early, leading a 21-5 run that resulted in a 40-25 halftime lead.
He had a 3-pointer, hit a running bank shot after a nice fake and then capped the spurt by jumping in front of a pass by the Aztecs, stealing the ball and racing the length of the court for a dunk.
That gave Illinois its biggest lead of the half at 37-19 and sent the large contingent of orange-clad Illini fans into a tizzy.
Williams finished the half with 14 points, and Illinois made seven 3-pointers to keep its distance.
When Williams hit three straight 3-pointers in the first 5{ minutes of the second half, Illinois' lead jumped to 58-34.
"You have to find a way to stop the runs or frustration settles in. You have to make a defensive stop," Faux said. "We weren't able to do that. They were bigger than us and Frank Williams made plays."
Minutes after his 3-point barrage, Williams made another steal, hurried down court and at the last second lofted a pass to Head, who went high above the rim and slammed the ball with one hand.
Seconds later, there was a near-replay as Williams again came up with a loose ball and tossed the ball to the 6-foot-3 Head for yet another jam.
"I got great passes from Frank both times," Head said. "I just tried to get two points. I wasn't trying to do anything fancy. It might have looked like that, but I was just trying to get two points."
Randy Holcomb, who played high school basketball in Chicago, scored just nine points, eight under his team-high average.
Illinois finished 13-of-25 on 3-pointers, with Head and Cory Bradford making three each.