WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Way before Purdue fans lost their heads in celebration, before ESPN cameras zoomed in to spot Bruce Weber’s stone-cold, beaten face on the sideline afterward, the Illini’s 74-67 loss Saturday had been put in motion.

Amid the pandemonium of black- and gold-clad fans, one could only wonder what caused Illinois to suddenly go cold in all aspects of its game in the second half. An early lead over Purdue and a sound victory over Michigan on Wednesday added questions to the detective work: How could things change and get so bad so quickly?

That story, as it turned out, was all too simple.

At halftime, with Purdue trailing by eight, head coach Matt Painter caught up to his players on their walk off the court. What transpired thereafter could have been the difference in the game, and in effect, the Illinois season. Painter got the Boilermakers to come out in the second half with a fire Illinois couldn’t handle. What Painter said to his team exactly, Weber didn’t specify. All he saw were the results.

“Matt got after them while they were walking to the locker room (at halftime),” Weber said. “They came out with a much greater intensity. They got us pushed way out on the court offensively and we turned the ball over, which we haven’t done in quite a while.”

Entering the game, the Illini season had already been on the ropes. Brian Randle and Demetri McCamey had said almost every Big Ten game was a must-win. But Illinois couldn’t sustain its early momentum and lost confidence, consistency and any semblance of an offensive attack as the minutes dropped off the game clock. Now, it seems only winning the Big Ten Tournament could earn the Illini an NCAA Tournament berth.

In his halftime speech, Weber said he reminded his team it still had a game to play.

“I just said, ‘We have twenty more minutes. You got to understand we’re on the road,'” Weber said.

Emotions run wild

Echoes of Bruce Weber’s locker room tirade after the loss spread its way through layers of cinder blocks in Mackey Arena’s underbelly Saturday, bouncing in and around a press conference room already occupied by Purdue players. The Illinois coach vented after a game the Illini needed to win.

“I wasn’t very happy. I mean, I tried not to blow up, but I did probably a little bit,” Weber said. “It’s just disappointing because you play so well up to a point.”

Senior Brian Randle said it was the angriest he’d seen the Illini coach this season.

“It was pretty emotional, pretty intense,” Randle said. “It was somber at times. It’s another one of those games that gets away from you. You look back and run things through your head and wonder what you could have done differently. A steal here, a closeout there or something. It’s tough. We had a chance.”

Buckling under the weight of a 20-3 run by Purdue in the second half, tiffs erupted between Illinois players and coaches on the bench and the floor. Randle said the arguments were unfortunate, and that everyone had a chance to talk about it after the game.

“We were all angry,” he said. “Obviously we had some breakdowns, some miscommunications. We had some outbursts on the court between one another, which is never good during a game. That’s the most disappointing thing. You can deal with fighting hard. Even if the game doesn’t turn out well, that’s better than fighting or being mad at one another during the game.”

Freshman jitters

Guard Demetri McCamey, starting in place of junior Chester Frazier, had found his role in the Illini offense during the last few games but was benched in the second half of the game against Purdue on Saturday. McCamey, a Bellwood, Ill., native, went into the game averaging 9.7 points in his last seven contests.

Purdue’s defensive intensity in the second half of the game forced McCamey to commit five turnovers, second most on the team to Calvin Brock’s six turnovers, and altered his decision making. McCamey was called for a few carrying violations and was pulled after a scramble at half court led to the freshman making a desperation pass that didn’t find its mark.

“I think it was the first time McCamey, who’s played well as a freshman, probably got a little shook,” Weber said. “He had a couple carry calls and he threw some away, didn’t see it, the man, or didn’t connect his eyes.

“He had some excuses, like a young freshman, and I said, ‘if you’re gonna learn, you’ve gotta learn the hard way.'” We actually pulled him, put him back in, then pulled him again. Down the stretch, I thought about going back to him, but after it was 60-57 it just seemed to unravel again.”