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Arizona keeps its turbulent season alive with an 87-81 win over Illinois in Midwest final.
©Associated Press
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 26, 2001
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- At home and at work, Lute Olson endured more anguish than he showed.
Now his Arizona Wildcats are headed to the Final Four, trying to write an ending that surely won't mend a broken heart but might make up for the headaches.
Gilbert Arenas scored 18 of his 21 in the first half, Loren Woods scored 16 of 18 in the second and Arizona gave Illinois as much of a pounding as it took to win the Midwest Region final 87-81 Sunday.
The Wildcats, 19-2 since starting 8-5, earned a trip to Minneapolis for a national semifinal game against defending champion Michigan State on Saturday.
"I think the way the guys hung together through the ups and downs shows that we have great team chemistry," Olson said. "This is truly a family. Everyone knows their role and accepts it. That's why there wasn't any dissension when things could've fallen apart for us."
In October, the Wildcats were talking about being not just champions but among the best teams of all-time.
Then came the headaches: Woods suspended for six games to start the season; a one-game suspension for Richard Jefferson; a stretch of five losses in 10 games.
The heartache came Jan. 1 when Bobbi Olson, the coach's wife of 47 years and a second mother to generations of his players, died of ovarian cancer.
More headaches followed (a two-game suspension to reserve Gene Edgerson and a flare-up by Woods), but the Wildcats take a season-best 10-game win streak into the Final Four.
"We went through a lot of struggles all year," Arenas said. "We set a goal before the season to get to the Final Four and it looked rough for a while. But we are very grateful to be here now and having the opportunity to reach our goal."
Arizona's victory upheld the honor of the Pac-10, which saw Stanford and Southern Cal get bumped in region finals Saturday. The Wildcats are the conference's first team to make the Final Four since Stanford in 1998.
Top-seeded Illinois got this far with a bruising defense, and from the beginning it was obvious the Illini were trying to shut down the 7-foot Woods and power forward Michael Griffin.
While the pair didn't attempt a shot in the first half, Arenas was lighting it up from the outside and Arizona was hitting 56 percent of its shots. Yet the second-seeded Wildcats were up by only four at halftime.
The Illini kept banging and made their move after Richard Jefferson went to the bench with four fouls with 16:07 left.
A three-pointer by Lucas Johnson put Illinois ahead for the first time at 49-48. Then a layup by Robert Archibald, who had a career-high 25 points, made it 56-54, giving the Illini their biggest lead.
But Archibald fouled Luke Walton on the other end, and his two free throws tied the score. After Marcus Griffin missed a one-and-one, Woods put Arizona ahead for good 58-56 with his first basket, a 2-footer that bounced on the rim before falling through.
The Wildcats ended up with a 10-0 run that stretched the lead to 64-56. Griffin and Brian Cook fouled out for the Illini during the run, which Jason Gardner capped with an NBA three-pointer and a pair of free throws.
The Illini got as close as 84-81 in the closing seconds, but Gardner and Woods sank three free throws to seal Arizona's second victory over Illinois in three games this season.
"We played catch-up the whole game," Illini coach Bill Self said. "We finally got the lead, but Arizona responded like good teams do." The teams combined for 59 fouls and 81 free throws. Arizona converted 43 of 56, 33 of 42 in the second half. Six Illini players fouled out.
Arenas, who had 13 points on 6-for-23 shooting in the previous games against the Illini, shot 7-for-10 in the first half. He missed all three of his second-half shots.
Woods was 3-of-3 from the field and 12-of-13 from the line. Gardner also had 18 points and Jefferson 10. His biggest contribution was helping hold Illinois' Frank Williams to nine points, 21 less fewer than he scored two nights before.