Mike Davis

The up-and-down play of Mike Davis is a puzzle inside a conundrum inside a riddle - even to Davis himself. Illinois opened the Big Ten season with a 3-0 record. And Mike Davis scored in double figures in each game. Actually, the Illini are 10-1 when the senior forward scores at least 11 points. The only loss was to Missouri, and Davis had one of his best games at Illinois with 17 points and eight rebounds. When he doesn't play well, however, Illinois is prone to struggling. In losses to Penn State (eight points, four rebounds) and Wisconsin (six points, one rebound), Davis was a non-factor. "You always want to feel like you're part of the game. Sometimes I feel like I'm not getting touches or I'm not getting certain shots. I don't know," Davis said Monday. "Sometimes I'm active to start the game and just playing good defense, stuff like that. I think it just comes down to, I don't know, it's hard to figure it out. Even myself, I can't figure it out."

Klee