Nobody expected anything different.

When the Assembly Hall consecutive sellout streak ended for the men’s basketball team after 1,451 days, senior guards Trent Meacham and Chester Frazier weren’t surprised – neither questioned crowds for shying away in light of recent performances. Sophomore guard Demetri McCamey dealt a share of the blame on last year’s senior leadership, Shaun Pruitt and Brian Randle, and vowed to redeem a 16-19 finish one year ago.

So far, things are looking up.

The Illini’s lone loss during a 9-1 start is a 76-74 finish to NCAA Tournament-caliber Clemson, whose 10 wins are the most in the ACC. Mike Davis and McCamey have been the team’s scoring foundation, although Frazier’s importance in the early going can’t be denied. He averages over six assists per game.

McCamey’s prowess is no surprise after his performance in last year’s Big Ten Tournament, but Davis’ climb has head coach Bruce Weber smiling. Calvin Brock was the starter at that position in the preseason before Weber turned to Davis, who still slacks off in practice but averages 14 points and nearly nine rebounds per game.

Weber’s lineup ranks second in the nation in total assists and 16th nationally in points allowed per game. The team’s lack of size can be neutralized somewhat if lone 7-foot center Mike Tisdale builds off dominating performances in the South Padre Island Tournament, where he was MVP, and against Chicago State.

My personal semester highlights

Walk-on Bubba Chisholm’s free throw against Chicago State, transfer Dominique Keller’s numerous high-off-the-glass layups, having two wins in the “pick-to-click” contest and surviving an accident en route to the Illinois/Georgia matchup at the United Center in Chicago.

While you’re on break

The Braggin’ Rights game against Missouri in St. Louis (Dec. 23) is the first of several tough matchups in the next month. Illinois will open the Big Ten portion of its schedule against Purdue (Dec. 30) before facing Michigan twice (Jan. 4 and Jan. 14). Michigan has beat two teams ranked in the AP Top 25, UCLA (16) and Duke (7). Purdue’s only losses are to ranked Oklahoma and Duke. No Big Ten team, aside from Indiana, has fewer than six wins.

Sophomore transfer guard Alex Legion could have an effect on several of those games. Legion will play his first game for the Illini as early as Dec. 20 against Detroit, after transferring from Kentucky late last year. While his effect on the team cannot be assumed, Legion is a scoring threat that could potentially give the Illini a dangerous shooter with playmaking ability.