Its hard to maintain an underdog psychology when youre suddenly ranked among the Top 25 elite, and your 5-5 opponent has been blown out three times in the last four games.

   But just as the Illini had used a fighting spirit to defeat Purdues cagers in eight of the previous 11 meetings, Gene Keadys skidding athletes combined a zone defense strategy with deadeye shooting to turn the tables, 75-69, Thursday night at the Assembly Hall.

CHAMPAIGN – University of Illinois basketball as we know it may be extinct.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Not until the last two months did Purdue's basketball team live up to expectations.

But when the Boilermakers did, it cost them dearly.

Starting lineups, predictions.

   Purdue basketball coach Gene Keady and assistant Frank Kendrick committed an "inadvertent violation" of NCAA rules by making telephone calls to the home of a prospective recruit, the university said Tuesday in West Lafayette, Ind.

   Purdue, which plays Illinois on Thursday in Champaign, has informed the NCAA and will take "appropriate steps" to prevent future violations.

Statistics to date (you''ll need to scroll right to see them all)

CHAMPAIGN – It is, of course, the .833 than means more than the 17.3 to University of Illinois senior Kiwane Garris.

They are, respectively, the Illini's winning percentage and Garris' 1996 scoring average.

CHAMPAIGN – It took 10 wins and almost two months of the season.

Finally, the Lon Kruger's first University of Illinois men's basketball bunch has found a couple of opponents that can provide it with what it craves, what has become the cry of '90s athletes.