MADISON, WIS. ? Where were you, Wayne Simien, when Illinois punished Kansas, 80-64, in a Sweet 16 basketball game last March?

“In front of the tube watching it like everyone else,” Simien, KU’s freshman power forward, said.

Then a senior at Leavenworth High, Simien didn’t make the trip to San Antonio to watch KU in the NCAA Tournament.

“It was disappointing to see them go down like that. I was really excited to think about what it would be like if I was in there. Maybe I could help out the team. I get my opportunity this year and I’ll try to make the best of it,” Simien said.

Simien, a bulky 6-foot-9, 250-pounder who averages 8.4 points and 5.4 boards a game, might have made a huge difference a year ago. He figures to play major minutes in Friday’s KU-Illinois rematch, which will tip off at 9:25 p.m. in the Kohl Center.

U of I’s Sergio McClain and Marcus Griffin, who have used up their eligibility, were immovable objects inside as the Illini outrebounded Kansas, 45-30, last year.

“My teammates definitely told me how tough that was,” Simien said. “I definitely saw that on TV. We just have to be ready for it.”

Simien heard a lot about the Illinois loss last summer and this past preseason.

“Coming off the loss, everybody talked about how physical they were and how they pushed us around,” Simien said of the Illini. “That was last year. This year we have a new team, and as far as I’m concerned we are going to go in there and take care of business.”

Simien doesn’t shy from contact, even in practice.

“It is really a physical time out there,” Simien said of practice time. “The Red Team (scout team) has really helped us prepare for other teams. Practice against them is just like a game. It’s like war out there.

“There are no buddy-buddy friendships at practice. You are not trying to take it easy on each other. You are trying to get each other ready to play the next game.”

Simien, who says he hit the freshman “brick wall” more than a month ago, said he thought he could muster enough energy to make it through four more games. KU is two wins from the Final Four, four from a national championship.

“It wears on all the freshmen,” he said. “The thing you have to look at is there is the possibility there are only four more games. This is the time when it counts the most. This is the time you’ve been working for all year. I really don’t try to think about it. I just try to suck it up and play these last four games and hopefully end the season on a good note.”

He said at times he and contributing freshmen Aaron Miles (6.8 ppg, 7.0 apg) and Keith Langford (7.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg) felt the pressure of a long season.

“You have tendencies at times, like walking in the dome and seeing 40,000 people staring down at you,” Simien said of last weekend’s wins over Holy Cross and Stanford in the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

“If you haven’t experienced anything like that, you’re just kind of in awe. Sometimes you get mental lapses on the court, but I think I’ve definitely grown out of my freshman stage. Everyone still has tendencies to experience lapses sometimes, but I think I’ve come out of that as the season has progressed.”

He’s trying to ignore postseason pressure.

“With the progression of the tournament, the intensity level rises with each game,” Simien said. “It’s a good experience and I try to go into each game with confidence. I’ve got guys like Drew (Gooden) and a lot of the older guys to pat me on the back and tell me to calm down on the court if things aren’t going my way.

“The team camaraderie this year has been huge, especially with the three freshmen coming in and getting as many minutes as we do.”

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Today’s slate: The Jayhawks are scheduled to practice from 3:10 p.m. to 4 p.m. today at Kohl Center. The practice, which usually is a light shootaround, is open to the public.

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Illini’s Cook talented: KU coach Roy Williams on talented Illinois forward Brian Cook, whose dad, Norm, played at KU.

“I think Brian has continued to improve, as a lot of the best players do in college basketball from year to year,” Williams said of the 6-10 forward from Lincoln, Ill., who averages 13.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. “Last year he was one of those big guys, but this year I think he’s the guy they have really counted on. I think his scoring has been so much more consistent.

“Saying all that, I hate to pick out just one guy because their team has played so well down the stretch. They’ve won 11 of their last 12 and they won nine conference games in a row and four on the road. I think during this stretch they’ve played as well as anybody in America. Brian is, needless to say, with his scoring, rebounding and shot blocking a player you have to contend with.”