NORMAL — Dan Muller floated open on the right wing with 7 seconds to play, cutting to the basket as Rico Hill reversed the ball to Kyle Cartmill in the left corner.
Cartmill drove. The Tennessee defense collapsed. And there was Muller, open for a layup with 1.8 seconds on the clock.
Illinois State 82. Tennessee 81.
A first-round victory for the Redbirds in the 1998 NCAA tournament — redemption from a year prior and their 12-point loss to Iowa State.
Those back-to-back tourney teams, Muller said nearly 20 years later, were built on toughness.