WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – It was back to business as usual for the Illini at Mackey Arena on Saturday.

After what was perhaps the Illini’s best first half of the season, the team returned to its losing formula of poor free-throw shooting and foul trouble – that and 15 second-half turnovers.

Coach Bruce Weber tried not to get too emotional about his team’s 74-67 loss to Purdue but he couldn’t help it.

“I wasn’t very happy,” a disappointed Weber said. “I mean, I tried not to blow up, but I did probably a little bit.

“We just had mental breakdowns. Whether it’s taking care of the ball, fouling, or losing a guy for a dead layup on a play we actually talked about in the huddle, you can’t do that … We’ve done that all year.”

The Illini (9-10, 1-5 Big Ten) outplayed the Boilermakers (13-5, 4-1) throughout a first half in which Illinois shot 51.9 percent, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arch. In the second half, though, the team was simply outmatched by a stingy Purdue defense.

The Boilermakers went on a 20-3 run and watched a nine-point deficit turn into a 51-43 lead in just more than six minutes. Purdue freshman Robbie Hummel tallied seven points, three rebounds, two steals and a block in that span. He finished with 13 points.

But it was Nemanja Calasan who stole the show. The junior forward scored 17 points in a season-high 30 minutes in just his second start. Calasan trailed only teammate Keaton Grant’s game-high 22 points that included a 4-of-6 performance from three-point range.

“Grant’s got to be the most improved player in the country, for sure the Big Ten,” Weber said. “Last year, I’m not sure we would have considered him a threat from three. He makes his free throws and runs the show.”

And speaking of free throws, things just keep getting worse for Illinois.

“It’s cost us, obviously,” said Weber of the team’s 10-of-21 (47.6 percent) performance from the line. “Even if you make another four or five, it’s a different game today. It’s been like that all season. And when they miss, I think it also takes their spirit out.”

Weber said the team has exhausted every method he knows of in practice to improve its Big Ten worst free-throw shooting, but none has worked.

Brian Randle was sure the problem is a mental one.

“Between myself, Shaun (Pruitt) and Chester (Frazier), we can go down the line and shoot anywhere from 85 or 90 percent in practice,” he said. “It’s never a problem.

“We just have to take it upon ourselves to do some mental conditioning.”

Randle led the Illini with 15 points and 11 rebounds for his second straight double-double. Randle had committed no fouls in the first half but had four within the first seven minutes of the second.

He, along with Pruitt and Trent Meacham, was on the bench during much of Purdue’s 20-3 run because of foul trouble.

Pruitt tied Randle for a team-high 15 points, and Meacham contributed 11 of his own.

The tough loss followed the team’s first conference win, a 75-57 victory over Michigan, and the Illini need to regroup soon, having already tied their loss total from last season.

“I think everyone is frustrated right now,” Meacham said. “It’s not fun losing. No doubt everyone in the locker room is frustrated, and (Weber) is too. We definitely have to stay together after a game like this, stay positive. That’s what we got to do.”