CHAMPAIGN — Looking back, Jared Gelfond picked a wondrous time to attend the University of Illinois as a basketball fan.

His undergrad years stretched from 1998 to 2002, right when the Illini were getting it rollin' and the Assembly Hall was rockin'. So it's accurate to say big wins and manic crowds defined the favorite moments of his college years.

One of those: Illinois 76, Gonzaga 58, on Nov. 16, 2001.

"I remember the Gonzaga game very well. The crazy thing is most of the students were on Thanksgiving break," says Gelfond, a former president of Illini Pride and Orange Krush. "But it didn't matter. There was an aura at the Hall back then. It didn't matter who came in.

"It just felt like we were going to beat whoever it was."

(For the sake of college memories, Gelfond and his buddies got up at 5 a.m. the next day, drove to Columbus and watched Ron Turner's Illini beat the Buckeyes. Now that's a weekend.)

Back then the Assembly Hall was a miserable setting for visitors. The new Illini are trying to rekindle that homecourt mojo — starting with Saturday's game against No. 19 Gonzaga (2:15 p.m., ESPN2).

"It's a great chance to make a statement in early December against a quality opponent. I hope the crowd's pretty fired up and loud," coach Bruce Weber said. "But you do it by your play and the intensity of your play and playing at that magic level at home."

Ticket sales are down but gradually picking up as the Illini (7-0) show signs of being better than projected. As of Friday, there were 900 tickets remaining for today's game.

Various promotions have elevated sales, too. Illinois sold roughly 1,000 tickets for a three-game, $15 package that includes the St. Bonaventure, Coppin State and Cornell games, ticket manager Jason Heggemeyer said. Another 1,000 tickets — at $5 a pop in a one-time promotion — were sold for the Coppin State game.

Even so, it is unusual (and telling) there are still tickets available for every home game. Other factors have influenced sales, too. The Big Ten schedule, which features just one Saturday home game (Jan. 7 vs. Nebraska), didn't help matters. Widespread television coverage often makes it easier to stay home on the couch. And outside Gonzaga's visit, the home schedule before the Big Ten season is filled with low- to midmajors and also-rans.

But the homecourt advantage boils down to the quality of the home team, as Weber indicated.

And a win against Gonzaga (5-0), a nationally recognized brand name, surely would boost ticket sales and fan interest going forward.

"You get some confidence in the team and that translates into more people coming to the games," Heggemeyer said.

"Obviously it would be a big win for us," junior Brandon Paul said. "It would keep the homecourt advantage and keep the streak going."

Intimidating homecourts have more to do with win totals than fans raising their voices. The Assembly Hall lost its edge not because people stopped showing up — Illinois ranked 10th nationally and second in the Big Ten in attendance last season — but largely because the Illini haven't won at the level fans became accustomed to.

The Assembly Hall was a factor because Illinois went an astounding 93-4 at home from 1999 to 2006. The home record since then: 66-21.

Nothing to be embarrassed of. But nothing to be scared of, either.

"It's something we talked about a lot last year: Playing at home doesn't mean you're going to win," Weber said. "You've got to go and take advantage of it and use the crowd and almost come with almost a higher emotional level. Hopefully we can get that instinct going into the season."

"I think this game is huge because you look at our young guys. They haven't seen what it's like when we've got that place rockin'," assistant coach Jerrance Howard said. "We thought Maryland was a huge game, but facing such a good team like this on national TV, it might be bigger.

"Even for Sammy (Maniscalco). He's been doing his thing for four years, but it hasn't been on the national scene. It's even big for a guy that's mature and a veteran."

The Gonzaga game in 2001 wasn't the start of the Illini's run through the early 2000s. Illinois was coming off an Elite Eight, for one. The Illini entered the 2000-01 season with a No. 3 ranking and returning starters Frank Williams, Cory Bradford and Brian Cook. Gonzaga was coming off an Elite Eight and two Sweet 16s.

At least some of the figures involved remember the atmosphere well, including the crowd.

"I remember a sea of orange. They had a great team — (Robert) Archibald, (Brian) Cook," says Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd. "That was (Dan) Dickau's senior year. It was (Ronny) Turiaf's first road game as a freshman. He was scared, basically. It was a crazy environment."

Perhaps more important, the opener ushered in another successful campaign in a banner era for the Illini — not simply by the final score but how it assured the UI wasn't, in fact, leaving the national stage for a while. The box score lists the attendance at 16,500, a hefty crowd for a Friday night game in November that wasn't followed by a home football game the next day.

"We had some buzz around the team because we had a lot of guys coming back," says director of basketball operations Sean Harrington, who played 33 minutes. "They were coming off their Sweet 16s, Elite Eight runs. So we knew who they were. We were pretty excited. It wasn't your normal home opener."

"We had the 'Dan Dickau Rule,' " says Howard, a freshman at the time. "Every time he'd come across the (midcourt) line we had Arch running at him."

Last season the Illini went 14-2 at home, their best record at the Assembly Hall in five years, and this is the first time Illinois has started 7-0 since the 2006-07 season.

"We need this win. If we get this, we go (into the) Top 25 possibly," junior D.J. Richardson said. "It would help our program and give us more confidence."

When the Assembly Hall is loud, it's really loud.

When it's not, it's a cavernous, quiet, odd building.

It's up to the new Illini to return the Assembly Hall to its former state.

"I remember one game looking at my friend and saying, 'There's no way anyone is going to beat us here tonight,' " Gelfond said. "There was an aura at the Assembly Hall."

No place like home
The Illini are trying to relocate their Assembly Hall mojo. Remember when (almost) no one won there?
Season    All    Conf.
2011-12    4-0    0-0
2010-11    14-2    7-2
2009-10    13-5    5-4
2008-09    14-3    7-2
2007-08    7-8    3-6
2006-07    14-3    6-1
2005-06    15-1    7-1
2004-05    15-0    8-0
2003-04    12-1    7-1
2002-03    14-0    7-0
2001-02    13-1    7-1
2000-01    12-0    8-0
1999-2000    12-1    7-1