NCAA Midwest Regional at Minneapolis : Anderson Leads Illinois Over Louisville, 83-69

Illinois forward Nick Anderson collapsed on the Metrodome court in exhaustion Friday night as soon as the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. Midwest Regional semifinal game against Louisville was over.

“It felt like I played 135 minutes,” he said.

Actually, Anderson played a grueling 35 minutes of basketball, scoring 24 points as the top-seeded Illini defeated Louisville, 83-69, before a crowd of 33,560 to advance to Sunday’s Regional final against Syracuse.

The Orangemen, who hung on for an 83-80 win over Missouri in the other semifinal, will have to do a better job of defending against Anderson than Louisville did.

“I thought Nick played really well,” Louisville center Pervis Ellison said. “There was a stretch where he took over the game.”

That came when Illinois was leading, 54-53, midway through the second half, and Anderson made three consecutive jump shots.

Anderson, who had 14 points in the second half, was particularly effective inside for Illinois.

“I feel when I get it down low I can’t be stopped,” Anderson said.

Illinois Coach Lou Henson said it was just a typical game for Anderson, a 6-foot 6-inch junior forward.

“Nick did what he’s been doing the entire year,” Henson said. “He was outstanding.”

Illinois needed a big game from Anderson because it was without two starters, forward Kenny Battle (sprained knee) and center Lowell Hamilton (sprained ankle).

“This team has guts,” Henson said. “They will not die. You will not beat them. This was one of the most impressive victories I’ve had in 34 years of coaching. We had two starters out and we won a key ball game against one of the best ballclubs in the nation.”

Battle, who sprained his right knee when he slipped on a wet spot in Thursday’s practice, had been expected to start. But his injury was more severe than at first believed.

Forward Marcus Liberty, who started in place of Battle, played more like a senior than a sophomore. He had 14 points and eight rebounds.

“Marcus Liberty is an outstanding young player among veterans,” Henson said. “He played a sound game and handled the ball well and did a good job on their guys inside.”

Liberty also did a good job of checking Ellison, limiting the All-American center to just 12 points.

Ellison bruised his right knee just 2:26 into the game when he collided with Liberty. He returned three minutes later but was ineffective because his lateral movement was restricted.

Illinois lost Hamilton just 18 seconds after Ellison was hurt when he sprained his right ankle after landing hard while going for a rebound.

“For a while, it looked like the battle of the walking wounded,” Louisville Coach Denny Crum said. “But their walking wounded played better than ours.

“I wish we would have won, but you have to give Illinois credit. They do a great job of passing and handling the ball. That’s the best passing team we’ve faced this year.”

Louisville, which trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half, got back into contention when the Cardinals went to a Twin Towers offense, teaming the 6-9 Ellison with 7-foot center Felton Spencer.

But the Cardinals, who closed within two points, 64-62, with 8 1/2 minutes remaining, collapsed down the stretch. Illinois outscored Louisville, 19-7, the rest of the way to put the game away.

The Illini played outstanding defense against Louisville, which shot just 38.4% in the second half.

“Illinois is a great basketball team,” Crum said. “That’s why they’ve only lost four games this year.”

So the Illini, unable to win consistently in the NCAA tournament, finally won a big game.

But they aren’t satisfied.

“The thing about us is that we win in the regular season and lose in the NCAA,” Anderson said. “We won’t be over the hump until we win it all.”

Illinois is 30-4. Louisville finished the season with a 24-9 record.

Notes

Forward Kenny Payne led Louisville with 19 points, guard Everick Sullivan had 15 and guard LaBradford Smith added 14. . . . Guard Kendall Gill had 16 points for Illinois. . . . Illinois Coach Lou Henson praised guard Larry Smith, who had eight points and four assists off the bench.