PORTLAND, Ore. - After a one-year absence, Illinois made it back into the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament this season.

Winning here, however, will have to wait.

The collection of "experts" picking 12th-seeded Western Kentucky to upset fifth-seed Illinois were right on the money. The Hilltoppers never flinched while blitzing the Illini early, although they had to sweat at the finish line, barely holding off a late, frantic rally for a 76-72 victory Thursday night at the Rose Garden.

Western Kentucky bombed the Illini with 3-point baskets, with fast break scores and with a dominating performance on the glass. Less than 12 minutes into the game, and Illinois was being run out of the gym.

Even when Illinois did draw to within seven points early in the second half, Western Kentucky merely answered three points at a time, ripping off a 12-4 run to open a 49-34 lead with 15 minutes to play.

To Illinois' credit, the team did not give up. And a late rally sparked mostly by Trent Meacham brought the Illini to within two points at 74-72 on Meacham's driving basket with eight seconds to go.

But Western Kentucky was able to inbound the ball and play keep away until Illinois could foul with 0.9 seconds to play. A final pair of free throws finished off Western Kentucky's victory.

"We probably didn't play with the urgency we needed to, but they played great and were making shots, and it seemed like we were chasing them all night," said Meacham, who led Illinois with 24 points in his final game as an Illini.

"We just didn't have enough at the end. We were fighting from behind all night. It was ugly there for a while. We got down 17 or so, but we kept fighting and finally got some steals and stops and made some shots. A loss is always hard when you realize it's your last game, especially on this stage."

The result is that Illinois' season ends in disappointment and with a 24-10 record. Instead of moving on to the second round of the tournament, Illinois makes an early exit and returns to Champaign today.

Illinois has not won an NCAA Tournament game since 2006 when it beat Air Force in a first-round game in San Diego.

Illinois lost the next game to Washington, then lost a first-round game in 2007 when it blew a late lead against Virginia Tech.

After sitting out the tournament last season with a 16-19 record, the Illini marched back into a position of recognition this year, moving back into the Top 25 for a period of seven weeks and finishing in a second-place tie in the Big Ten Conference race.

But a recurring problem bit the Illini Thursday, and a relatively new one didn't help, either.

Illinois did not shoot well, especially from distance (1-for-9 on 3-pointers in the first half when Western Kentucky was establishing a 37-28 lead).

And with Chester Frazier out for the third straight game with a hand injury, Illinois also had to deal with foul trouble when Frazier's replacement, Calvin Brock, picked up three first-half fouls and a fourth relatively early in the second half.

But it was uncharacteristic breakdowns on defense that hurt the Illini most of all.

Before the game, coach Bruce Weber stressed the need to get out and cover Western Kentucky's 3-point shooters, and yet the Hilltoppers (25-8) bombed away from beyond the arc, making nine of 19 for the night.

Weber also stressed the need to track down rebounds and yet the Hilltoppers outrebounded Illinois 23-15 in the first half alone and 35-28 for the game.

Illinois hoped it could offset Western Kentucky's perimeter shooting with an edge inside. But center Mike Tisdale had one of his worst games, failing to score and grabbing just one rebound in 19 minutes.

Illinois finished the season in a wobbly way, losing four of its final five games.

Fans will debate the impact Frazier's injury had on the late-season slide, and this was clearly a game in which Frazier's defense and toughness would have helped.

But it's hard to say that with Frazier, Illinois would have stopped the determined Hilltoppers, who advance to play Gonzaga on Saturday for the right to move on to the Sweet 16.

Western Kentucky struck with spurts of points that always kept the Illini safely tucked into a hole.

In the first half, Illinois led 10-9 when Western Kentucky hit four straight 3-pointers, including two long bombs by Orlando Mendez-Valdez. That burst gave Western Kentucky a 21-13 lead it would never relinquish.

Brock scored to open the second half, cutting Western Kentucky's lead to 37-30. But Jeremy Evans scored on a three-point play and Sergio Kerusch, A.J. Slaughter and Steffphon Pettigrew followed with back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Hilltoppers a 49-34 edge.

Brock had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Mike Davis had 12 points and nine rebounds for Illinois. All five starters scored in double figures for Western Kentucky, led by Pettigrew's 17.

mtupper@herald-review.com|421-7983