Frazier, Illini showing little to brag about

The hour was late. The mood was dark. The NCAA Tournament seemed a long way away -- metaphorically as well as literally.

As Bruce Weber and his assistants dwelled in their office Thursday night and searched for a new direction after Illinois' overtime loss to Miami (Ohio) at the Assembly Hall, a few players dialed Weber's cell phone.

"One sobbing," Weber said. "One very distressed."

Though Weber didn't identify the players, he soon began to talk about junior point guard Chester Frazier. Draw your own conclusions.

"If everyone cared like Chester cared," Weber said, "we wouldn't have 4 losses."

But therein lies Illinois' conundrum as it prepares for today's Braggin' Rights game with Missouri in St. Louis:

If not for Frazier's play, the Illini might not have 3 of those 4 losses.

In the close games against Maryland, Arizona and Miami that turned into defeats, Frazier produced 2 points on 0-for-15 shooting (including 0-for-11 from 3-point range).

The Baltimore product handed out 14 assists but also committed 12 turnovers that seemed to occur at the most inopportune times.

"One thing Chester does give us is defense," Weber said. "But there were five possessions in the Arizona game and 4-5 possessions (against Miami) where he just loses it and destroys everything else he's doing."

Two cases in point:

With less than 90 seconds left in regulation and Illinois leading Arizona 58-57 on Dec. 8 at the United Center, slick Wildcats freshman Jerryd Bayless tries to put his best crossover move on Frazier.

Frazier reads it, sticks his nose and right hand in, deftly taps the ball away and heads the other way.

But as Frazier charges into the lane, he gets caught in midair trying to make a play and turns the ball back over.

Early in overtime against Miami on Thursday, Frazier again finds himself in transition with teammates ahead.

Instead of slowing up when he sees the numbers are bad, Frazier fires an alley-oop pass for Brian Randle that Randle couldn't have converted if standing on Manute Bol's shoulders.

As soon as Frazier released that pass, Weber performed a tortured soul's dance on the sideline.

Weber wants Frazier to slow down. At the same time, he offers him a mixed message.

At one point during the second half Thursday, when Brian Randle stood at the free-throw line, Weber took advantage of the crowd's collective-held breath. He looked at Frazier and yelled, "Play to win! Be the aggressor!"

"At times, we've played scared," Weber said. "Well, not scared, but tentative. We've talked about body language. Not freezing.

"And then there's that fine line. Now Chester goes fast and throws a lob."

In a perfect Illini world, Weber would hand more of the point-guard duties to freshman Demetri McCamey. But the St. Joseph product has struggled as much, or more, than Frazier.

In his last three games, McCamey has hit 1 of 13 shots with 4 assists and 5 turnovers over 57 minutes. He also brings little of Frazier's defensive intensity.

"At times he has some bad habits," Weber said. "He just stands and watches."

Since Missouri senior guard Stefhon Hannah (14.6 ppg, 5.1 apg) needs full-time attention, expect Frazier to play the vast majority of the minutes again today.

"He'll be real key (tonight)," Weber said, "because of their pressure and how they play."

Illinois (6-4) vs. Missouri (8-3)

When: 7:30 p.m. at the Scottrade Center, St. Louis

TV: ESPN2

Radio: WIND 560-AM

The skinny: The Illini have won the last seven Border Wars, but this figures to be their toughest challenge during this run. For example, Mizzou defeated Maryland by 14 at a neutral site, while Illinois lost by 8 on the Terps' floor. The Tigers have most of their guys back from the group that lost 73-70 to Illinois last December, but they added Vanderbilt transfer DeMarre Carroll. The strong combo forward (6-feet-8, 225) leads MU with 15.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game and presents a matchup challenge. Mizzou will try to speed up Illinois with its constant pressure, while the Illini would be best-served to do what it takes to get the ball into center Shaun Pruitt's hands as much as possible.

-- Lindsey Willhite