CHAMPAIGN - A lot of things might have impressed Illinois coach Bruce Weber on Sunday at the Assembly Hall. Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player ever, sat just to the side of the Illini team bench watching his son, Illini sophomore Jeff Jordan. | Photo gallery | Big Ten scores, stats

Just a few rows below Jordan sat Chicago Bulls rookie sensation Derrick Rose, who used his day off to come see former Chicago Simeon High School teammate Tim Green play for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

But Weber found that other matters held his attention.

Sophomore forward Mike Davis had 20 points and 14 rebounds and the Illini cranked up the intensity in a way that made Weber proud while turning aside Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 72-53.

After falling behind 10-5, Illinois (2-0) smothered Corpus Christi and went on a 23-2 run to close out the half. Corpus Christi (1-1) shot 33.3 percent for the game and committed 18 turnovers.

Trent Meacham backed Davis with 14 points, four assists and no turnovers in 34 minutes of play. Junior college transfer Dominique Keller played his best game so far with 11 points and four rebounds and Demetri McCamey added 13 points, coming off the bench for the second straight game.

"I thought over the last 13 to 15 minutes of the first half, our players played as hard as any team I've been associated with," Weber beamed. "And we played hard defense.

"That's what we have been preaching early, to be aggressive. Trent took three charges. Mike Tisdale took one. If hard work and hustle are constants, we'll get better."

Weber was also pleased with the way Illinois shared the ball, finding open shooters.

"I thought 22 assists (on 27 made baskets) was very positive," he said. "And we shot 81 percent from the free-throw line. I asked if that was a record. It's not, obviously.

"The boards were going to be key. They controlled them early and we were down 8-1 at the start. But from there we outrebounded them 40-24."

Davis appears to be staking a claim on a major role for the Illini. His length, quickness and ability to make things happen near the basket become more apparent each time he is on the floor.

"If he rebounds and runs, he's going to do a lot of good things," said Meacham. "If he runs the court he's going to get easy baskets. He's tough when he does those two things."

Now all Davis needs to do is impress Weber with his effort.

"I have talked to Mike and Demetri because they have the athleticism to be our best players," Weber said. "But they have to do it on a daily basis. You have to come ready to get better every day and not just go through the motions. If you go through the motions you will pick up bad habits.

"Mike has a tendency to float. If we can get him a little more intense, he has a chance to be pretty good."

Weber also praised the play of Meacham and Chester Frazier.

"Trent was spectacular, to be honest," he said. "He had 14 points, good shooting, four assists, no turnovers and 13 on our play-hard chart, which is a big number. Chester was solid. We've asked for consistency. He had eight assists (and just two turnovers), plus he defends and plays hard."

A perfect example of how Illinois hustled and shared the ball came early in the second half.

Meacham drove hard with the ball and the defense moved toward him. So he whipped a pass to Davis, who came flying down the lane for a thunderous dunk.

On the next possession, Frazier attacked the basket. When the defense sagged toward him, he found Tisdale, who also dunked.

"Illinois just played with much more poise than we did," Corpus Christi coach Perry Clark said. "They really did a good job taking away our inside game. Believe it or not, we have people who can make inside shots, but you would not have known that tonight."