Remembering 2004-05: Working OT against Iowa

Remembering 2004-05: A milestone moment

Remembering 2004-05: A scare at Purdue

Remembering 2004-05: Big Ten opener's a blast

Remembering 2004-05: Illini braggin' but draggin'

Remembering 2004-05: Chicago gets taste of No. 1

Remembering 2004-05: UI climbs to No. 1

Remembering 2004-05: UI 91, Wake Forest 73

Remembering 2004-05: UI 89, Gonzaga 72

Remembering 2004-05: UI 87, Delaware State 67

Remembering 2004-05: UI 92, Lewis 61

Remembering 2004-05: UI 78, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 58

Remembering 2004-05: N-G front pages

Remembering 2004-05: Midnight Madness

Remembering 2004-05: Orange & Blue Scrimmage

EACH WEEK, WE'LL TAKE A LOOK BACK AT A MEMORABLE MOMENT IN ILLINI HISTORY, THANKS TO THE WORDS OF THE NEWS-GAZETTE

This week: In our continuing series on the 2004-05 Illini, Bruce Weber's unbeaten Illini passed another major test, becoming one of the few visitors to survive a trip to Wisconsin's Kohl Center.

Date: Jan. 25, 2005

Headline: Twenty Won

By BRETT DAWSON

MADISON, Wis. - You'd learned, on the rare occasions when things tightened up on Illinois, that this group of Illini had chilly enough stuff running through their veins.

Today, after Illinois' 75-65 win at Wisconsin, you know a little more.

The Illini aren't just cool. They're Kohl-blooded.

'I truly believe right now that this team is something special,' forward Roger Powell Jr. said after Illinois snapped the Badgers' NCAA-best 38-game homecourt winning streak at the Kohl Center. 'God has blessed this team.'

Maybe it's not divine intervention, but Illinois certainly looked kissed by fate Tuesday night.

Down eight points midway through the second half and playing in a snakepit venue that's been the most magical in college basketball the past three years, the Illini rallied.

And they did it not just behind their stars, but behind key buckets from reserves like Rich McBride and Jack Ingram, a one-two punch from behind the three-point line.

'We've had a lot of great wins, Gonzaga and Wake (Forest),' Illini guard Deron Williams said. 'But with the streak they had and the history of the building, (this win) is probably at the top right now.'

It's easy to see why.

Wisconsin (13-4, 4-2 Big Ten) did what it had done so often during its homecourt winning streak, using a sizzling second-half stretch in which it made 12 of 14 shots to turn a deficit into an eight-point lead.

In years past, Illinois (20-0, 6-0) might have wilted like the rest of the Badgers' victims. And for a moment, the Illini's blood boiled. Bruce Weber called a timeout, and his players were at each other's throats.

But not for long.

Turns out, the Illini are cool customers. Even at Kohl.

After those heated timeouts, the Illini warmed up. McBride sank an open three to close the gap to five. And minutes later, Ingram buried two three-pointers, the first, with 8:18 to play, tying the score at 58, the second giving the Illini a 61-58 lead.

'I looked up at one point, and I was like, 'Wow, eight points,' ' Illinois guard Dee Brown said. 'But when you think about it, that's three possessions. When you're a freshman, you don't get that. Now we know: Score a basket, get a stop, score another basket, it's four points. It's not a big deal.'

For Illinois, though, Wisconsin's homecourt winning streak - the longest in the Big Ten since the Badgers snapped a 53-gamer at Michigan State three years ago - was a very big deal.

Illinois went so far as to root for Wisconsin to rally against Michigan State 10 days ago, when it looked as though the Spartans might end the run at 37.

'They truly wanted to come up here and break the streak,' Weber said. 'I didn't make it a goal, but I think they did in their minds.'

The Illini lost a heartbreaker two years ago in Madison, when Devin Harris sank a free throw and Illinois' Big Ten title hopes in the closing seconds. They were blown out a year ago in what proved to be last season's rock-bottom game.

'We had hoped to end that two years ago to win the Big Ten championship, and we came up short,' Williams said. 'Early on, we circled this as a game we wanted to do well in when it came up.'

And when Illinois has circled an opponent this season, it has done so like a vulture.

'They love big games, they love the limelight,' Weber said. 'They rise to the occasion.'

Wisconsin's was college basketball's most-talked-about streak, but with the win, the Illini continued a series of spectacular spurts of their own.

Illinois won its 16th straight regular season conference game (the second-best stretch in school history), its ninth straight conference road game and its 10th consecutive road game overall.

'We wanted to end their streak,' forward James Augustine said, 'and keep ours going.'

That streak of Illinois' is alive and well and looking almost unbreakable.

Last week, after Illinois' 73-68 overtime escape against Iowa, Weber said maybe the nation caught up to his Illini.

Today, it looks like college basketball is back in Illinois' rear- view mirror.

'We knew we were a good team. We're like, 'We're good man, we're pretty good,' ' Brown said. 'But as we continue to play, we're starting to get an understanding of how special we can be.'

They were special down the stretch Tuesday night, making 10 of their last 12 free throws and scoring 14 of the game's last 15 points. After each Wisconsin miss, the Badgers fouled. And Illinois' celebration would come that much closer.

The game began with Weber scrawling a simple message across the dry-erase board in the Illinois locker room: 'Believe.'

It ended with little reason to doubt the Illini.

Almost an hour after the game, after Weber shook more than his share of hands, he shook his head. Box score in hand, he reflected for a moment on what his collection of cool customers accomplished.

'No one's come in here and won for three years,' Weber said. 'There's no doubt, we've got some kids in that locker room who believe.'