Illinois faces UNLV in tournament after frustrating season full of close calls

By Case Keefer (contact)

Sunday, March 13, 2011 | 10:40 p.m.

Illinois senior guard Demetri McCamey spent Sunday’s practice yelling and reminding his team of one simple message — play a full 40 minutes.

The Fighting Illini have encountered problems closing out teams all season. They’ve lost seven games by five points or less and another in overtime, oftentimes after spending most of the contest ahead.

Ninth-seeded Illinois (19-13) hopes it can learn from its mistakes and not repeat them against No. 8 seed UNLV in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 6:20 p.m. Friday in Tulsa, Okla.

“I think it takes a toll on you,” Illinois coach Bruce Weber said in a press conference after Sunday’s selection show. “There’s no doubt. I think it takes a toll on the staff. It’s just human nature to get frustrated, to have some doubt.”

The last time out for Illinois went much the same as the rest of its season. The Illini built a 51-42 lead against Michigan in the Big 10 Tournament quarterfinals with eight minutes to play, but collapsed from there.

Michigan finished on an 18-4 run to put away Illinois 60-55.

“We seemed to be in such control of the game and it went so quickly and turned,” Weber said. “I was sick to my stomach and didn’t feel good about it. I thought we had a chance to make a little push and were playing so well.”

As usual, McCamey was the leading scorer against the Wolverines. He scored 10 points, dished five assists and never came off the floor.

McCamey averages 15 points and six assists per game. He’s flanked by two other seniors on the inside, forward Mike Davis and center Mike Tisdale, who average 12 points and 10 points, respectively.

Two other key players for Illinois are sophomore guards Brandon Paul, a highly regarded recruit two years ago, and D.J. Richardson, a Findlay Prep product.

McCamey said he thought this team’s senior leadership would be the difference from Illinois’ last NCAA Tournament appearance, a first-round loss to Western Kentucky in 2009 as a No. 5 seed.

“I think we’ve got the right tools and the right people in the right places,” McCamey said.

McCamey and his teammates unanimously spoke highly of UNLV. Although they understandably hadn’t seen much of the Rebels, the Illini were impressed by their early season victory over Wisconsin.

Illinois split its season series with Wisconsin, winning 69-61 at home but falling 76-66 in Madison, Wisc.

Weber said he knew next to nothing about the Rebels and didn’t have much film yet, but had a decent idea what to expect because of his familiarity with UNLV coach Lon Kruger, who previously coached at Illinois.

“I just never had a chance to see them during the year,” Weber said. “You watch a lot of games but that just wasn’t a team I had an opportunity to see.

“We’ll get their last four games, look at them and see how we match up.”

He’ll likely notice an immediate size advantage as Illinois has four rotation players who are taller than 6-foot-9, while UNLV only has two on its roster.

It’s debatable whether that will translate into a factor as UNLV has actually rebounded slightly better than Illinois on the season.

The coaches and players breathed a collective sigh of relief when they saw their names pop up alongside UNLV Sunday. Most projections had the Illini in the tournament field of 68 teams, but they weren’t totally convinced.

“After Michigan, you had a little bit of doubt,” Weber said. “You didn’t know if you were going to get in. We got the opportunity and hopefully our kids will grab the opportunity and make the most of the situation.”

McCamey said the Illini had the confidence and it was only a matter of proving that they knew how to finish games.

They’re motivated to use the NCAA Tournament as a way to put a season full of letdowns behind them.

“Especially if we get a couple wins in the tournament, everyone will forget about what you didn’t do in the season or not winning the Big 10 Tournament,” McCamey said.

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.