Basketball Diaries, NCAA Edition - United, We Stand

Illinois 58, Indiana 54

Could the sixth man be an arena? You can't blame someone for wondering, as Illinois slogged past Indiana in overtime and extended its winning streak at the United Center to 18 straight games, 31-6 all-time. It certainly wasn't the artful play early on. Both teams combined for 20 turnovers and shot less than 36 percent. But Warren Carter stepped up with great defense and 17 points - Shaun Pruitt added 16 and grabbed 12 rebounds - to knock back the Hoosiers and set up a Saturday slugfest with #2 Wisconsinin in the Big Ten semifinals. More important, the win primes them for a higher seed in the NCAA bracket selection this Sunday. Coach Bruce Weber: "We talked about if we got to Saturday we'd feel pretty comfortable about the NCAA bid, but you never know. If we can find a way to beat Wisconsin and get to Sunday, then you know you're guaranteed of something." C'mon, United Center!

Oklahoma State 57, Texas A&M 56

Maybe it was an upset to everyone else but not to forward Mario Boggan who, for the fourth time this season, put the Cowboys ahead in the final minute, this time a game-winning lay-up with 11.5 seconds left. "Coach told us, 'Make a play at the end.' That's what it's about right here -- a big-time game," said the ever-humble Boggan. "I feel I'm a big-time player, so I should go out there and make a play. Coach drew it up and I just finished." It didn't hurt that A&M's Josh Carter, 3 for 5 on 3-pointers that night, missed two in those final seconds. "That might have been the miracle right there because he was hitting that shot all night," Boggan said.

Georgetown 84, Notre Dame 82

Patrick Ewing, Jr.? John Thompson III? All it lacked was big hair and Axl Rose, Jr singing the national anthem to complete the 80s deja vu. Led by Jeff Green with 30 points, 12 rebounds and the winning basket with 13 seconds left, the ninth-ranked Hoyas pulled a squeaker out over their Jesuit brethren and advanced to the Big East final for the first since 1996. "The performance Jeff Green put on today was special, and just our team in general hanging in there," coach Thompson said. "At the end of the day, great players make great plays and Jeff did that." DaJuan Summers added 18 and Ewing tied his career high of 15 to help the Hoyas grab their 14th win in 15 games. I could throw more numbers out here but let's just be honest: God likes the Hoyas better.