CHICAGO — The Illini moved Bruce Weber's motion North to the Windy City for the weekend.

And the Illini brought Bruce's brand in style with a scintillating 84-61 win over Arkansas on Saturday at the United Center. The Illini are 22-6 at the U-C since 1994.

The only problem was much of Chicago didn't seem to care. No. 11 Illinois (4-1) and Arkansas (4-1) only drew 15,398 fans on a temperate early December morning. The U-C seats 21,711. Assembly Hall seats 16,500 and would have been sold out. You do the math.

They would have been better off keeping Bruce's Boys in Champaign for this one and having a true home game. The Illini have won 19 straight at Assembly Hall and have only lost once in the last four years.

Assembly Hall is one of the toughest environments in all of college basketball. It's always a sell out. And it's aided by the Orange Krush who sing, flail and line-dance their way to agitating visitors. The only agitating they do at the U-C is that of the security guards and the middle-aged alumni crowd that doesn't understand Champaign's need to stand and cheer.

Not only are Chicago fans apathetic, but also they don't understand Champaign.

Saturday's basketball game provided the perfect specimen and the U-C was the perfect petri dish.

When team MVP Deron Williams went down hard after colliding with a razor-sharp Razorback player's knee, the Chicago crowd was emotionless. There was no hush over the three-quarter filled stadium as the Illini's season rested on William's sore leg.

Chicago didn't know who Williams was. They probably thought he was Bartolo Colon and didn't know whether to cheer or plead for him to re-sign with the White Sox, so they did nothing instead.

Chicago knows Dee Brown. They'll ignore his 3-for-17 shooting against North Carolina and they'll forgive his 4-for-12 shooting against Arkansas.

Brown was introduced last as the Illini revived the old lights-out Chicago Bulls introductions. Jim Sheppard even played a good Ray Clay. Chicago applauded Williams, who delivered another dominating 17-point and 10-assist performance. But Chicago hailed Brown with a resounding "Deeeeeeee" upon introduction.

Chicago doesn't know Champaign cheers. If this game is supposed to be for the alumni and their Chicago money, that's sad. They should know the cheer. It hasn't changed. Midway through the second half, the Illini cheerleaders attempted to evoke the time-honored I-L-L, I-N-I cheer. The crowd got the I-L-L part, but the other half failed on the I-N-I part. I guess that makes ill the new symbol of the U of I. Or maybe ill describes neutral site crowds?

Speaking of symbols, Chicago doesn't know Champaign because several Chicagoans were parading around the U-C with "Chief" t-shirts. They've got no clue what's going on down I-57 in the cornfields. And they think Champaign's backward?

Chicago is causing Champaign scheduling problems too. No Big 12 or SEC teams will come to Chicago for a neutral-and-neutral series anymore. They've got a Big 12/SEC challenge in the works, according to Illini assistant Jay Price. The Illini don't have an opponent set for next year's Chicago game.

"We're close on a team or two. I'm hoping in the next two weeks we should be able to have an opponent," Price said. "It's getting harder now because the Big 12 and SEC may start a challenge. Fewer teams are willing to go out and do different things."

But other schools don't want to play fair when it comes to neutral site series. They'll come to Chicago, but when it's the Illini's turn to travel, these schools either don't have a reasonable neutral site or they would rather host the Illini at home, Price said. The Illini aren't falling for that trap.

Keep it simple. Save the United Center for games against Chicago schools and the Big Ten Tournament. That's enough exposure for the Chicago alums.

The Illini next play at the U-C on Dec. 30 against UIC. Good. They should play there every year. That makes sense. Illinois and DePaul should also schedule a yearly match-up in Chicago.

Don't draw top competition away from Champaign. An Assembly Hall advantage might have helped the Illini avoid close U-C losses to Duke in 1994 and 1999.

Chicago doesn't get Champaign. Come to think of it, if the Illini keep up this neutral site silliness, maybe Champaign doesn't get Chicago.

Chris Neubauer is a senior in communications. He can be reached at sports@dailyillini.com.