Each day in March, we'll look back at a memorable Illini performance in the NCAA tournament, thanks to writers from the News-Gazette and Jim Turpin's audio.

Today: The Illini's march to the 2005 title game got off to an inauspicious start, Bruce Weber's team pulling away from Fairleigh Dickinson in the second half.

Headline: Syle points don't count

Date: March 17, 2005

INDIANAPOLIS —The new four-game winning streak has a theme: Illinois wins ugly.

Badly outrebounded (42-30) despite James Augustine's 15 and shooting at a 42.6 percent rate that is far below their season average, the top-ranked Illini clamped down on Fairleigh Dickinson in the tense minutes after halftime and advanced to the NCAA tournament's second round, 67-55.

Evidently the TV executives weren't impressed, an expected Illini-Texas confrontation having been projected for prime time Saturday, but a less-attractive UI-Nevada clash being pushed up to 4:40 p.m. (C-U time) ahead of what is now the evening feature between Kentucky and Cincinnati at the RCA Dome.

"We were not as sharp as we wanted," UI coach Bruce Weber said. "We got the lead early (9-3, 17-10 and 30-20) and let it slip before halftime (32-31). We had too many mental breakdowns. And then we went on that 14-2 run after the break."

The 14-2 explosion relieved the tension and uneasiness that swept through a building where orange-clads numbered more than half the 26,804 turnout. Just when they were pondering the unthinkable, Dee Brown came alive.

Call him Mr. Lucky. When he opened the second stanza by splitting the lane with a drive, his shot caromed off a defender and somehow deflected into the basket.

A few minutes later, with Illinois ahead 39-33, Brown launched from the baseline and the off-line attempt ticked off the edge of the backboard and was redirected into the basket. Thus inspired, it was "Dee for Threeeeee" moments later, and Illini Nation breathed a sigh of relief with the score 46-33.

Close counts

"If you watch scores across the country, nobody is blowing anyone out," Weber said. "We struggled in that first half, particularly when Deron Williams was out (with two fouls). And (Gordon) Klaiber, at 6-foot-9, was hard to defend. But the main thing is to advance, and we did."

The UI sharpshooters had struggled through six consecutive halves, dating to midway in the Northwestern game last week, without shooting 41 percent in any of them before Brown sparked Thursday's revival. Even so, the second-half marksmanship was a mere 48 percent, roughly the regular season average. And the three-pointers came in at a subpar 28.6 percent on six bull's-eyes in 21 attempts.

But let's not overlook the tight man-to-man defense because, as in the Big Ten tournament and any number of overlooked outings, that was the difference. The Illini had eight steals in winning the turnovers (17-8) and completely dominated after sitting down with Weber at halftime. Fairleigh Dickinson's underdogs missed 18 of their first 22 shots after the break as the spread reached 58-39 and had little to offer besides Klaiber.

Here again, we see a trend in the recent inability to stop a solitary red-hot opponent, beginning with Matt Sylvester (25) in the loss at Ohio State, and including Northwestern's Mohamed Hachad (23) and Minnesota's Vincent Grier in Chicago prior to the finale in which Wisconsin didn't manage a single double-figure producer. Klaiber scored 24 points in 33 minutes.

Coming up big

If Brown energized Thursday night's spurts, Augustine was the consistent driving force. Coming off a conference tournament in which he speared 31 rebounds, the springy junior set a career high with 15.

"James was very active, very aggressive," Weber said. "His conditioning is good, and he's active on the glass. There were some games late in the regular season when he became tentative, but now he's playing like one of the best big men in the country."

Weber is dropping that accolade on a center who contributed two field goals but attained his double-double via seven free throws and was even more impressive on the other end of the court. He is playing long minutes without fouling (his sophomore bugaboo) and won't have to worry Saturday about the refconfusing, back-down tactics of Texas' two blond bombshells, Brad Buckman and Jason Klotz.

Nevada flashed more bounce than Texas, but is less physical, and won with a balanced approach that missed the usual punch from the Wolf Pack's slender star Nick Fazekas (he was 3 for 14). By the way, Nevada shot under 40 percent and got by with it.

Can't anybody shoot straight anymore?

Other March Memories:

Austin Peay pulls a shocker in 1987 - LInk

Bill Self's finale game a 2003 loss - Link

Illini look good vs. Louisville in 1989 - Link

Illini end Sweet 16 drought with '01 win in Dayton - Link

Illini quiet Cincinnati in '04, finally beat a higher seed - Link

Empty seats, big win in 2006 tourney opener - Link

Illini stun Arizona to reach 2005 FInal Four - Link

Call goes to Kentucky in 1984 regional final - Link