Finally, Illini make a stand

"The whole difference was playing hard," a breathless Weber said after the game. "We kept missing shots, but they did, too. We kept saying, 'We're fine, we're fine, you're playing hard. Just keep playing hard.'"

Now, Weber wondered, can they do it again?

The test will come at noon on Sunday when Illinois hosts Purdue. At least there should be an appreciative welcome from fans who have been waiting for that kind of performance. What hurts, of course, is knowing that playing hard and playing with that kind of courage could have produced victories at Penn State, Indiana and Northwestern.

Tupper