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Enjoy from my personal collection of NCAA Tournament games. This game still stings nearly 30 years later as Illinois got in a hole against Maryland before rallying back. The game went to the final minute, with the Terps pulling it out. I was disappointed as Illinois was so close to the Sweet Sixteen, where it would have played my favorite team at the time, the defending champion Arizona Wildcats. It wasn't meant to be for this 1997-98 Illinois team, which helped set the foundation for a very successful run in program history. Under second-year Head Coach Lon Kruger, this Illini team started five seniors in the late Matt Heldman, Kevin Turner, Brian Johnson (the brother of future Illini Lucas), Jerry Hester and Jarrod Gee, and finished tied for a share of the Big Ten championship. Also on this team was freshman Sergio McClain, who came off the bench. Note: I did not start recording full NCAA Tournaments until 1999; thus, my 1998 collection is sparse, with the exception of Arizona games and the Final Four.
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