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The only thing fluid about the balding Lucas Johnson is his sweat. His scoring average (4.4) reads like a Humvees mpg sticker. Kids who dont sleep in class have higher GPAs than he has rebounds per game (2.9).

Friend: The Terps can't do without Dixon Kirkpatrick: Gooden & Collison lead the Jayhawks Forde: Tough defense is the standard in Con-USA Liang: Haslem is comes up big for the Gators. Burton: Don't question Duke's toughness Feldman: Sampson's teaching are getting through Hockensmith: Dickau knows how to finish Wojciechowski: Johnson makes or breaks the Illini Thamel: UConn women are more than their starters Hodes: Look out for the women of the Big 12 Hodes: Lady Cardinals believe in Magic

So why did Illinois, an Elite Eight team in 01, struggle so much when the senior sat out the first 18 games this season? And why are the Illini surging now that hes back from off-season ACL surgery? Johnson is a human skidmark, a floor burn waiting to happen. Hes 6'8" of chippy. Hes 230 pounds of annoying. Without him, the Illini are as soft as the manure pile at the schools South Farm ag complex. With him, theyre a team you dont want in your bracket. "Were starting to get that toughness again," LJ says.

Since his return on Jan. 23, Illinois has overcome a 13-point deficit at Michigan and an 18-point hole against Purdue, and held on for a big W at Michigan State. Of course, come Tourney time, when everyone brings it a little harder, the Illini will need more than Johnsons sweat stains. Theyll need PF Brian Cook to put two halves together, F/C Robert Archibald to stay healthy and PG Frank Williams to break out of his funk. Theyll need a team full of tough. But as countless Big Ten foes can attest, LJ has a way of rubbing off on you.

This article appears in the March 18 issue of ESPN The Magazine.