By Robert Valentin

Staff writer

Eastern’s NCAA berth has garnered it a great deal of national attention, including a phone call from University of Illinois coach Bill Self.

“I called Rick (Eastern coach Rick Samuels) to congratulate him on their win,” said Self, whose team is ranked No. 4 in the country according to the ESPN/USA Today Coach’s Poll. “What a great game it was.

“It was a remarkable comeback, no matter who you’re playing,” Self said. “Especially Austin Peay, who is one of the premier teams in the conference.”

If the co-Big Ten champion falters in the Big Ten Tournament, they may wind up facing Eastern Illinois in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“There is a distinct possibility we could play Eastern,” Self said. “But they may be seeded better than 15 or 16. I think Eastern could be a 13 or 14. That’s what Rick and I talked about.”

Self also thinks the Panthers could make some noise at the tournament.

“I think anything could happen,” Self said. “They have firepower and they have a guy I know can score.”

Samuels has been very happy with all the other national attention the team has received.

“When you’re one of the first teams in, you’re a good fit for a lot of sports talk shows,” Samuels said. “It’s great not only for our basketball program but the university.

“I talked to Flint Michigan. I had a guy call from San Diego,” Samuels said. “I talked to ESPN, the Score in Chicago, sports radio 1000. It’s good to talk about Eastern Illinois and our program.”

The Panthers were also mentioned in the cover story on the USA Today sports section and Kyle Hill was named Dick Vitale’s player of the week after his 99 points performance over the course of the OVC tournament tied Bubba Wells tournament record (Austin Peay, 1997).