MADISON, WIS. ? Drew Gooden admonished the media the other day, telling them to quit writing about last year’s Kansas-Illinois game, that this year’s KU and UI teams were different.

Gooden earned All-America honors as a Kansas University junior this season, but he was only half right about the Jayhawks and Fighting Illini being different teams.

That was basically the same Illinois team that waxed the Jayhawks, 80-64, in an NCAA Midwest Regional last March in San Antonio.

But this was NOT the same Kansas team. This KU team had a bench. Last year’s didn’t, and no one exploited that deficiency more in 2001 than the deep-benched Illini.

“Last year their bench outscored us eight million to two,” Kansas coach Roy Williams said following Friday night’s 73-69 Elite Eight clincher over Illinois at the Kohl Center. “It was really ridiculous.”

Williams was speaking in hyperbole. He was way off on the Illinois bench points last season, but close on KU’s reserves’ tally. Illinois outscored Kansas, 28-0, in 2001, but this time the bench score was Kansas 25, Illinois 14.

Putting it another way, KU’s bench contributed 25 more points this year while cutting Illinois’ reserve scoring in half.

“The bench was big-time for us,” Williams said.

Last year the Jayhawks struggled when Kirk Hinrich was saddled with early fouls. Darned if it wasn’t deja vu all over again on Friday night. Hinrich picked up his third foul eight minutes after tipoff. Then he picked up No. 4 before five minutes had elapsed in the second half.

“Last year Kirk was in foul trouble at about the same time and we had to play zone,” Williams said. “When he picked up his fourth foul, I was glad not to have to play zone anymore.”

Williams would rather play hockey with a pogo stick than play zone defense in a basketball game.

Freshmen Keith Langford and Wayne Simien contributed 22 of those 25 bench points. Senior Jeff Carey had the other three, all on a conventional three-point play that came in a curious situation. Twice Illinois’ Robert Archibald had scored underneath and was fouled by Carey, and each time the Illini’s 6-foot-11 senior followed with a charity. Moments later, Archibald returned the favor by fouling Carey after a stick-back basket.

So in essence it was a 2-for-1 tradeoff, which, with Kansas battling foul woes, Williams accepted gladly.

Not only did KU’s bench fail to score a single point against the Illini last season, KU’s reserves didn’t even have a field goal attempt.

The biggest goose egg belonged to 7-footer Eric Chenowith, who played 22 minutes in his last college game and came no closer to scoring than stepping to the free-throw line twice. Yep, he missed ’em both.

Today Chenowith is playing for Huntsville, Ala., in the NBDL after starting with the Greenville, S.C., club in that developmental league. Greenville traded him, something Williams couldn’t do.

The only other bench player who logged notable minutes in that 2001 Kansas-Illinois meeting was guard Brett Ballard, who played eight minutes, didn’t come close to scoring and committed three turnovers.

On Friday night, Ballard was the only Jayhawk who played and didn’t score. But he played less than a minute on the clock.

So the difference this time was KU’s bench, mainly freshmen Langford, who drilled two clutch free throws with :02.8 showing to pull the Illinois plug, and Simien.

Somebody asked Illinois coach Bill Self if KU’s three freshmen including starter Aaron Miles, who had 13 points had surprised him.

“It doesn’t surprise me they played well,” Self said. “They would be starting at any other team other than Kansas.”