Sluggish Illini find way to win against E. Mich.

CHAMPAIGN - Let's just say Illinois didn't exactly repeat its bravura performance against Missouri.

Between Friday's haphazard practice (a handful of guys couldn't get back to campus due to the weather), Eastern Michigan's unanticipated zone defense and the Eagles' well-known dreadful record, the Illini didn't threaten excellence Sunday afternoon.

But unlike last year, when sluggish days led to a slug in their win-loss record, the Illini perked up after halftime for a 62-53 win before 16,288.

"The Missouri game, we made shots," said Illinois coach Bruce Weber. "Balls bounced our way, plays went our way. It just seemed like everything, we were at a special level.

"And tonight, it was probably the exact opposite. And I'm glad if it's going to happen, it's at home and a team that we can still find a way to win."

Seven-foot sophomore Mike Tisdale missed just 1 shot after halftime as he rolled up a career-high-tying 25 points and Illinois wrapped up non-conference play with a 12-1 record.

Senior guard Chester Frazier pulled down a season-high 11 rebounds while classmate Trent Meacham added 16 points, including four 3-pointers during the game-changing eight-minute stretch that bridged halftime.

"(Their zone) kind of threw us off a little bit," Meacham said. "I just don't think we were patient enough. We settled down in the second half and did a little better job."

Not everybody did well enough to please Weber. For the second home game in a row, sophomores Demetri McCamey and Mike Davis didn't play much after halftime.

Davis, who played 8 of his 22 minutes after the break, missed all 4 of his shots, struggled defensively and wound up with 1 point and 3 rebounds.

McCamey, who played just four minutes in the second half, went 1-for-5 from the floor as he kept trying forcibly to recapture the magic he had against Mizzou.

McCamey finished with 3 points, no rebounds and 1 assist in his 16 minutes.

"A couple shots didn't go down and they let that get to them," Weber said. "You've still got to guard. You've still got to rebound. You've still got to fight. Get on the floor. Do other things! You can still be valuable.

"That's where those two guys - I think their whole mind-set is shots and 'do I score points?' Do the other things."

Now, with little time to exhale, comes the heart of the Big Ten schedule.

The Illini have the distinct honor (or dishonor) of playing in the league opener Tuesday night at No. 10 Purdue.

"Are we good? We'll find out on Tuesday night," Weber said. "I wish we'd had another day, to be honest, so (Monday) you could recover from this. We had some guys play 30-some minutes."

Indeed, because Eastern Michigan (2-10) never trailed the Illini by more than 13 and backup center Richard Semrau had little practice for this game, Tisdale played a career-high 37 minutes.

Weber decided Tisdale and Meacham needed to play the entire second half while Frazier sat for just 50 seconds.