Tonsillitis, unlikely dunks and Hitler mustaches in Ann Arbor

For a sleepy Sunday morning early in the Big Ten season, there sure was a bunch of stuff that happened during Illinois' 74-64 loss at Michigan.

1. AILING DAVIS
Sophomore forward Mike Davis played despite suffering from tonsillitis. In 24 minutes, he contributed 10 points and 5 rebounds but he looked a half-step slow. Early in the second half, Michigan's Manny Harris outleaped Davis to block a dunk. A few minutes later, 6-foot-3 Laval Lucas -Perry blocked a Davis layup where he didn't appear to go up too strong.

2. THROW IT DOWN GOES FRAZIER
Senior guard Chester Frazier threw down a dunk that ranks as an Illini all-timer...and not just because he was playing with a strained groin and not just because it was the first of his career. If it isn't a SportsCenter highlight tonight, there's no justice for Frazier.

Illinois picked up a turnover, Demetri McCamey fed it to a flying Frazier a little beyond the foul line, he took two dribbles without losing steam and unexpectedly slammed it home with 16:28 left in the first half just as 6-foot-8 DeShawn Sims closed in on him. Sims nicked Frazier's non-shooting hand to send him to the floor, but no foul was called.

(By the way, thanks to alert reader Dad for rewinding his DVR and providing the necessary details because it happened so quickly in real time).

The Illini bench went berserk for a good 30 seconds as they, like everyone on press row and everyone watching on TV, couldn't believe what they saw. Jeff Jordan gasped. C.J. Jackson spread his body everywhere. Dominique Keller covered his face.

We couldn't ask Frazier about the dunk after the game because he was already getting treatment on his groin, so Keller filled in admirably.

"I was amazed. I've seen Chester do that same exact dunk on Mike Davis in practice...and he told us he was going to get someone. We was just playing like, 'Nah, he ain't never going to do that.' And when he did it, everybody jumped up and down and started chanting. I just was in shock. I couldn't even move. He shocked me."

3. DRY-ERASE MARKER IS HECK TO REMOVE
As veteran Illini fans know, Bruce Weber likes to draw plays during timeouts during a white greaseboard and a black dry-erase marker. And, on occasion, Weber gets smudges on his hand when he wipes off the plays and transfers the smudge to his face.

But he unknowingly took it to an alarming new height after the final media timeout of the first half, when he wiped the smudge above his upper lip. We were sitting across from the Illini bench -- 30 yards away -- and we couldn't believe how much it mimicked Adolf Hitler's choice for facial hair.

Weber removed most of it during halftime, but it appeared to make a slight comeback in the second half. Hopefully the televiewers out there weren't treated to too many shots of Weber during that run. While unintentionally funny, it's going to make for some unfortunate PhotoShops and Farks...if it hasn't already.

4. MICHIGAN'S OFFENSE IS HECK TO GUARD
There's a reason why John Beilein keeps climbing the coaching ladder: It's because he has figured out a way to play offense that drives opponents nuts.

"They exploit any kind of weakness you have," Weber said.

In the first half, Michigan's Sims hit 3 3-pointers by taking advantage of the fact that Illinois' 7-1 Mike Tisdale couldn't go outside and hang with him. That mismatch forced Weber to go with a small lineup of his own, which didn't help Illinois' offense any because Tisdale could have done great things against the smaller Wolverines.

"Tis, it's a tough game for him," Weber said. "You hate to give in and take him out 'cuz he's been one of our best players, but when (Sims) is making those 3s you've got to rotate."

Late in the game with Tisdale back on the floor, 6-foot-10 backup Zack Gibson (2 for 17 on the year from beyond the arc) drilled a crucial 3-pointer that took away Illinois' last lead with 7:15 to go. That then enabled Gibson, standing in the same spot three minutes later, to blow past Tisdale on the baseline like he wasn't there for a thunderous, uncontested dunk that made it 66-62.

"We've got them again in 10 days," Weber said, "so we've got to figure it out by then."

5. ALEX LEGION ENJOYED THE HECK OUT OF CRISLER ARENA
For those unfamiliar with the Alex Legion saga, he used to show up at Crisler Arena in homemade maize and blue shirts with his name and number on them. He orally committed to Michigan. Then he de-committed. Then he re-committed and signed a letter of intent. Then, when Tommy Amaker was fired and Beilein took over, he and his mom had meetings with Beilein.

Then Legion got out of his letter-of-intent and signed with Kentucky. Then he left Kentucky after 6 games last fall, transferred to Illinois 13 months ago and became eligible on Dec. 20. Whew. That's a mouthful.

Anyway, Legion's Michigan saga meant he received a bunch of boos from the Crisler crowd the first time his name came over the loudspeaker as a substitute. The boos kept coming. The Maize Rage, the student section that sits at midcourt, chanted "Legion Sucks!" midway through the first half. In an odd seating arrangement, Legion's mom, Annette, was standing directly across the aisle from the students and seemed to be chanting something as well.

Oh, and in the middle of the second half, Michigan's Zack Novak had to leave the game with blood streaming down the left side of his face after a collision with Legion. Beilein and the crowd thought Legion elbowed Novak to produce the cut that required 6 stitches, but the blood was already on his face when Legion's elbow made contact.

"I think we, like, butted heads," Legion said. "A lot of people think I elbowed him, but I kind of got messed up a little bit, too."

Long story short, Legion produced 10 points in 22 minutes, he had a huge posse here for the game and he stuck around afterward milling with the Michigan players after the Illinois bus left for the airport (the team has a few days off and there's no school so Legion was going to visit home).

"I expected (the boos). You know, it's college basketball. You expect the fans to rally behind their team and all that stuff, so it was good. I enjoyed it."

LW