San Diego – Hecklers might say otherwise, but the Illinois basketball team had to admit Air Force belonged in the NCAA Tournament.
Sure, the fourth-seeded Illini ousted the 13th-seeded Falcons 78-69 on Thursday night at Cox Arena. Air Force remained winless for its postseason history, but the Falcons gave the national runner-up from a year ago a game.
In the end, the Illini won with their superior inside strength. But the Big Ten representative also had the outside shooting of freshman guard Jamar Smith, who scored 20 points and hit six 3-pointers.
Air Force drew within 50-47 before Illinois went on a 12-0 second-half run to blow the game open. Smith’s 3-pointer pushed the Illini’s lead to 57-47 with 11:31 left. Forward Brian Randle’s follow shot made it 62-47 with 8:47 left.
Every time Air Force came close, the Illini’s inside strength and deft outside shooting took control.
A 28-14 rebounding edge was the catalyst for Illinois (26-6). Air Force (24-7) stayed in the game with its marksmanship from 3-point range (13-of-27), but it wasn’t enough.
The final figures only verified the impact Smith had on the outcome. He came off the bench and hit 7-of-10 shots from the floor, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range. His 20 points led the Illini in scoring, while Dee Brown led them in rebounding with eight and added 10 assists. Center Warren Carter scored 12 points, giving the Illini 32 critical points off the bench.
The Falcons countered with four starters in double figures, senior guard Antoine Hood leading the way with 17 points. Junior guard Matt McCraw, Jacob Burtschi and Dan Nwaelele followed with 13 points each. McCraw hit 4-of-5 3-pointers.
“He (Smith) is an outstanding shooter,” Air Force coach Jeff Bzdelik said. “Some of his 3s were contested, but a couple of times we left him open, and one time off a double screen we tried to shoot the gap, and you can’t do that. He got on a roll.”
Bzdelik knew the challenge.
“As we were calling other teams to gather information, we had people in the Big Ten say that Illinois was the best team,” Bzdelik said. “We just couldn’t get enough stops. In the first half (Warren) Carter came off the bench and gave them a boost. Obviously Smith was someone who broke our back with a lot of 3s.”
“Good teams make shots at key times and make stops at key times,” McCraw said. “Every time we made a run, they answered it with something. They always had an answer for us. We left everything on the court tonight, and that’s all anybody can ask.”
“Smith stepped up huge,” Hood said. “That’s what great teams do. When it’s time to play, they bring it.”
Illinois coach Bruce Weber applauded Air Force.
“Both of us got tired,” Weber said. “Both teams stepped up and played like they knew it was their last game if they lost.
“The talking heads can say what they want. Air Force is on the board. Air Force is a good team. They adjusted very well.
“Maybe they don’t have the size, maybe they don’t have this and that, but they overcome that with execution and toughness.”
Staff writer Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
