Illini ready to put title loss behind them

CHICAGO - The loss still lingers in Dee Brown's mind, and he doesn't expect it to go away.

Illinois spent most of last season ranked No. 1 and advanced all the way to the NCAA final, only to fall 75-70 to North Carolina.

"I think about it all the time," Brown said during Sunday's Big Ten media day. "Someone had to lose the game. They played better than us that day, and we move on. It was an unbelievable year for us, but we just have to move on."

That time is now.

Despite having reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Brown back for his senior season, the Illini are relatively inexperienced. That explains why they were picked to finish second in the conference behind Michigan State in the preseason media poll.

Guard Deron Williams went to Utah with the third pick in the NBA Draft following his junior season. Luther Head - last season's leading scorer - and starting forward Roger Powell Jr. were seniors last season, as were reserve big men Jack Ingram and Nick Smith.

"Last year, we had a lot of notoriety, a lot of people watching," forward Brian Randle said. "This year, people don't know what to expect."

Some of that "notoriety" went to Michigan State, which returns four starters from a Final Four team.

For Illinois coach Bruce Weber, clips from last year's NCAA run stir painful and pleasant memories.

The 6-foot Brown returned for his senior season after breaking his foot during the NBA pre-draft camp.

"I feel like it was meant for me to be in college," said Brown, who averaged 13.3 points last season.