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[00:00:00]
Tom Rogers: It was looking pretty desperate for Illinois with four minutes left in regulation. They had fallen back by more than they had against anyone else in their 35-1 season to date, 15 points. And then things changed dramatically. I mean, it was just crazy. Coach Bruce Weber was like most of the rest of the screaming, mostly orange-clad crowd at the Allstate Arena. He had trouble remembering who took what shot or who stole the ball in those last four minutes. Suffice it to say that Deron Williams hit the most crucial of crucial shots, a three-pointer after a Jack Ingram steal with 39 seconds left. That tied the game, a 17-to-5 run. Williams scored eight of those last 17 points, but he's the first to say it was far from a one-man effort.

[00:00:47]
Deron Williams: We just kept believing and kept listening to coach, kept fighting back. And, you know, the crowd just — you know, they helped us so much. They got into the game, got us the momentum. You know, I think the players got a little rattled by that, and then we were able to take control of the game.

[00:01:02]
Tom Rogers: What had been a palpable sense of dread in the Illinois crowd at that four-minute mark evolved into delirium. And in the overtime period, the Illini defense did what it had trouble doing in regulation: holding off Arizona's dominating inside game. And after yet another key Deron Williams three-pointer, Wildcat forward Hassan Adams' last-chance three-pointer for the win flew wide right and [caromed] off the back wall. Williams ended with a team-high 21 points. [Luther had] added 20 — no small feat for somebody who spent the game bothered by a hamstring injury. He waved off a heating pad on the bench on at least one occasion. Dee Brown, the third of Illinois' now-storied group of guards, had 15 points and high praise for the entire team.

[00:01:51]
Dee Brown: [Deron] Williams, best guard in America, came to[o], made a lot of big plays [with the hand]. Team MVP came to[o]. Big shouts to everybody who came to[o] as a team, man. In the huddle, we said we weren't going to lose this game.

[00:02:01]
Tom Rogers: Illinois now moves to the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis — their Final Four goal — for a Saturday night semifinal against Louisville, which also needed overtime to advance over West Virginia yesterday. The Illini are now big-time, picking up fans like actor Bill Murray, who sat with Illinois fans and said he's been won over.

[00:02:20]
Bill Murray: The style they play — I think their team plays — it's really elegant. It's incredibly elegant.

[00:02:26]
Tom Rogers: Illinois will need two more examples of elegance to find itself the national champion for the first time ever. In Chicago, I'm Tom Rogers.