Illinois praying they showed enough to make NCAA tournament

Losing the battle to hold his head up after an 88-81 double-overtime loss to top-seeded Ohio State on Saturday in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals at Conseco Fieldhouse, Illinois forward Mike Davis faced a difficult 24 hours between the final horn and the NCAA tournament selection show Sunday.

If the latest variable in the selection process is the eye test -- does a team look like it deserves a bid, rather than just relying on a computer ranking. After an upset victory over Wisconsin in the quarterfinals and an impressive show against the Buckeyes, Davis felt the Illini should get a passing grade.

"If they watched us the past two games, I definitely think we do,'' Davis said. "If you saw what we did at the beginning of the season, we're not the same team right now. We put ourselves in this position. I'll be biting my nails until our name comes up.''

What does it mean? It's hard to say after the Illini nearly overcame a 20-0 run by the Buckeyes. Illinois looked secure after dumping Wisconsin on Friday, then saw Minnesota play its way into bubble contention with upsets over Michigan State and Purdue. With Houston winning the Conference USA title and stealing the automatic bid, Illinois and the rest of the bubble teams were left nervously scanning bracketology.

The bubble could change late into Saturday night or Sunday morning with Utah State playing in a conference championship game.

Illinois coach Bruce Weber planned to stay away from it. There's nothing else he can do to help Illinois' chances. No one outside the selection committee conference room really knows what will be the deciding element, although Weber admitted it's going to be close.

Illinois fell to 19-14, but the Illini made a statement in splitting two games in the conference tournament after losing five of its last six games in the regular season.

"If the look test means anything, it showed we belong,'' Weber said. "Are we one of the best 65 teams in the country? Yes. That doesn't mean things are going to work out for us.

"I haven't slept in two days. Nothing is going to change. It's been a hard, emotional week. I laid in bed all night. I slept for 5 minutes. I'll probably go recruiting (Saturday night). I'll just watch the Weather Channel. That's how I stay away from it.''

With an NCAA berth, Illinois "could do some damage,'' Weber said.

The NCAA selection show is 5 p.m. on CBS. The Illini will convene to watch the release of the pairings, hoping they're one of the 34 at-large berths. If not, the NIT selection show is 8 p.m. on ESPNU. The Illini haven't played in the NIT since 1996, the final year under coach Lou Henson. The NIT holds first round games on Tuesday and Wednesday, but the Illini can't host a first-round game because of a Cirque du Soleil production in Assembly Hall.

"I've got faith that we're one of the top bubble teams,'' said Illini forward Bill Cole. "It would be pretty tough to keep us off, just because our quality wins are so good.''

The Illini have five wins vs. the RPI top 50 and six wins vs. the top 100. With wins over Vanderbilt (home), Wisconsin (road and neutral), Michigan State (home) and Clemson (road), the Illini may separate themselves from the other bubble teams.

Bad losses in November and 13 of the 19 wins against teams ranked No. 113 or worse could harm Illinois' chances. The loss to home Minnesota, coupled with the Gophers' run to the Big Ten title game, made Saturday night a long one for anybody wearing orange and blue.

"I'm going to pray tonight,'' Illini guard D.J. Richardson said. "I have a feeling we might be in there.''

Illinois failed to get off a shot with the final possessions in regulation and overtime against the Buckeyes (26-7). Illinois led by four in the first overtime before the Buckeyes took control in the second overtime.

Illinois alternately dazzled and teased its fans put up back-to-back shows just when the bracket is filling up.

"I couldn't be more proud of our kids,'' Weber said. "I told them I wasn't proud to be their coach at the start of the week,'' Weber said. "I didn't like how they played. I didn't like how they competed. I didn't like how I coached, to be honest. They grew up, matured and competed. I thought it was a tremendous effort.''

Weber and the Illini were left to wait and see.

John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com.