2005 Ad

1 What would an undefeated regular season mean for Illinois? Those advocating a loss before the NCAA Tournament don't appreciate what an achievement this would be. Since 1990, two teams entered conference tournaments undefeated: 1990-91 UNLV and 2003-04 Saint Joseph's. Becoming No. 3 would earn the Illini a place as the school's greatest team. Fans 20 years from now would say the names of Williams, Brown, Head, Augustine and Powell with the reverence they now reserve for the 1989 Final Four squad.

2 If you can see only one conference tournament, which one? It's about the games, which means the ACC. It hasn't been the best league, but it's the one that will have the most quality teams playing desperately to keep NCAA Tournament hopes alive (Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, N.C. State) and the best teams fighting for seeding and a title (North Carolina, Wake Forest, Duke).

3 Is a Pac-10 tournament looking like a good idea now? Beyond Washington and Arizona, no member has been all that special. UCLA was 1-7 vs. the RPI top 50; Stanford 3-4. If the NCAA selection committee chooses teams as it says, without regard to conferences, it will have a difficult time justifying another Pac-10 bid--unless there's a surprise winner in the Pac-10's tournament.

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