CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – On April 4, Bobby Frasor found himself the minority among a growing group of Illini fans. Frasor, then a senior at Brother Rice High School in Chicago, had committed to play basketball at North Carolina, but was 600 miles closer to Illini country than Chapel Hill.

On Tuesday night, though, Frasor was a Tar Heel, and while he didn’t put up the team’s best numbers, he did have 7 points, 3 steals, 2 assists and a rebound. And he did it against fellow Chicago-area native, Dee Brown.

“I looked forward to the challenge,” Frasor said of going up against Brown. “I think we did a great job today. I know it’s a great challenge to play against any All-American.”

POSTSEASON POWERS

The ACC and Big Ten are the most successful conferences in NCAA Tournament history. The conferences have a combined 637 tournament wins, and since 1979 they’ve had 39 percent of the No. 1 seeds. Since 1988, the ACC and Big Ten together have had 34 of the 72 teams to make it to the Final Four.

ANKLE UPDATE

When he woke up Tuesday, Bruce Weber didn’t know if he’d make it to the game. He said his ankle was swollen and throbbing, and that it took a lot of pain medication to get him to the Smith Center.

But Weber said he’d give himself a broken ankle long before wishing one on any of his players. He’s not happy that he’ll have to scale-back on his participation in practice, but will to prevent further injury.

“Right now I’ve just got to avoid everybody,” Weber said. “If they get me the wrong way, it could be surgery.”

QUOTE OF THE GAME

“The ball was the steak and I was a pit bull, so I went after it.”

– Brian Randle, who had 12 points, 2 steals and 2 blocks