Some might argue Dominique Keller is the Illini’s sixth man. Others would say it’s Calvin Brock or Alex Legion. Mike Davis thinks Illinois’ sixth man is the fans – or at least he did on Saturday.

“The crowd was the sixth man today. They were a great help today. They were loud the whole game,” Davis said after Illinois’ 64-57 win against Wisconsin. “Hopefully it’s like that for every game the rest of the season.”

Hear that?

Saturday’s sell-out crowd of 16,618 was only the second Assembly Hall-packed house of the season.

I think it’s safe to say this Illini squad has earned back some respect after last year’s 19-loss misery. The House of ‘Paign should be sold out every game.

Saturday’s sea of orange was involved in almost every play. Standing ovations cheered the Illini into and out of timeouts, and Davis could be seen pumping up the fans every time Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan was forced to call a timeout.

I’m not going to say this year’s team reminds me of the 2005 crew. It doesn’t. But this season’s brand of basketball has peaked my interest in a new way. Almost any player can lead the Illini on any given night. McCamey is the go-to guy, but Tisdale, Davis and Meacham are all capable of going off.

Still on the fence?

Last year Illinois went 7-8 at Assembly Hall. This year Illinois is 11-1 at home. Illinois’ most recent win against the Badgers extended its Assembly Hall winning streak to eight, which is currently the longest streak in the Big Ten.

“It was good to sit down in my seat at the start of the game and look up in the left side behind the basket, the student section, everything was filled today,” said head coach Bruce Weber.

“Just a great crowd, great energy, students are back. I think the last four home games we have used the crowd, and we have used it to become intimidating.”

Weber said it right. The key is intimidation. If a Big Ten opponent can come into Assembly Hall and not feel any pressure, the fans aren’t doing their job.

Weber knows that his team must continue proving itself to the fans in order to increase that intimidation factor.

“You do it with defense and you do it with your effort. And if you do those things, now the crowd gets involved,” Weber said. “Now you can freeze a team a little bit or intimidate them – make them do things that they’re not used to doing.”

Illinois’ effort has definitely been there this year. The Orange and Blue have already surpassed last year’s win total with 17 victories so far.

As for their defense, the Illini are limiting opponents to 56.6 points per game and have held teams under 60 points 13 times.

I’m curious to see whether the sellouts will continue. I guarantee the likes of Mike Davis and Bruce Weber hope so.

I’d also like to give a special thanks to one of my roommates (who shall remain nameless) for suggesting Chester Frazier as my pick to click for Saturday’s game. Frazier nabbed me my second win on the year. Thanks also goes out to Jeremy Werner and Jeff LaBelle for selecting Mike Tisdale and Alex Legion, respectively.

Ryan Dixon is a senior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected]