CHICAGO — Even with the dust unsettled in the minutes after SanDiego State’s 93-64 loss to Illinois in the first round of the NCAATournament, Randy Holcomb was able to see the positives.
“This program has come a long, long way,” Holcomb said of SDSU andits first NCAA appearance in 17 years. “I’m so proud. This team was5-23 a couple of years back. Now we’re expected to win. It has beenrejuvenated.”
Holcomb was in a semi-upbeat mood despite the fact his homecomingdidn’t go according to plan. In the senior’s return to the WindyCity, where he starred in high school, he finished 4 of 10 from thefield (nine points) with three rebounds.
“Of course (I’m disappointed),” he said. “I’d be lying if I said Iwasn’t.”
The game was one of the few times this season that the 6-foot-8forward had been held in check. With Illinois’ twin towers Brian Cook(6-feet-11) and Robert Archibald (6-feet-10) firmly planted inside,Holcomb and Mike Mackell were held to nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Illini’s duo combined for 16 rebounds as the teamaccumulated a 13-0 advantage on the boards in the game’s first 12minutes. Illinois finished the first half with a 22-9 reboundingadvantage and held Holcomb and Mackell to a combined two points.
“They’re real big,” Mackell said. “Tonight they came out withtheir A-game and we helped them out by not being aggressive.
“It was one and done. We couldn’t get any second shots.”
The Aztecs’ pair did make some headway in the second half,combining for 15 points, but it was too late.
Said Holcomb: “By the time I was able to get it going, we were outof the game.”
Cool hand Al
In the face of adversity, Al Faux proved once again that he isSDSU’s go-to guy.
As the red lights on CBS’s cameras turned on, so did the seniorguard’s game. He finished the first round match up with a game-high27 points on 9 of 16 shooting from the field, including 6 of 9 frombeyond the 3-point line.
When the Aztecs struggled inside throughout the first half, Fauxand junior Tony Bland (18 points) kept them going from outside. Thepair combined to score 23 of the team’s 25 first-half points.
“Randy (Holcomb) couldn’t go inside,” Faux said. “We knew that wasgoing to hurt us.”
But even the senior’s hot shooting couldn’t slow down Illinois’scorching perimeter play. The Illini combined to shoot 13 of 25 frombehind the arc in the contest.
“We didn’t expect them to shoot as well outside,” Faux said.
Shot of the tournament
The morning game in Chicago featured the Midwest Region’s No. 5seed, Florida, versus No. 12 Creighton. The two teams were locked ina close game until Florida appeared to have a commanding 69-62 leadwith 1:46 remaining.
But Blue Jay Trevor Taylor said, “Not so fast.” He hit a pair of3-pointers to force the game into overtime. Wearing No. 23, the guardthen pulled a Jordan in “the House that Jordan built” (UnitedCenter), hitting a game-winning 3-point shot with a hand in his faceand two-tenths of a second remaining in double overtime to helpCreighton pull off the 83-82 upset.
Did you see?
SDSU’s version of “Rudy,” Ben Wardrop, can add an NCAA Tournamentappearance to his resume. The sophomore walk-on got his name into theNCAA history books by playing one minute toward the end of the loss.
Did you see (part Dieux)?
Melanie Davis became the first woman to ever officiate an NCAATournament men’s game as she called the SDSU-Illinois contest.
“If this could open the doors for other ladies, that would bewonderful,” Davis said. “But if not, I am going to cherish thismoment.”
Quotable
“I’ve gained about seven pounds.”
– Texas Tech Head Coach Bobby Knight, responding to howmuch he’d grown personally during his first season in Lubbock, Tex.after his team’s first-round loss to Southern Illinois.
By the numbers
0 — rebounds by the Aztecs in the first 12 minutes.
7 — rebounds by SDSU’s Aerick Sanders.
21 — total wins for the Aztecs, more than the previous twoseasons combined.
58.6 — percent shooting from the field for the Illini.
20,850 — attendance for the morning session at the United Center,the biggest crowd to watch SDSU this year.
