In an undisclosed location at an undisclosed time, the Illini men’s basketball team met without its coaches and tried to save its season.

Aside from those vague details, the players divulged little else about their private rendezvous, which happened sometime after Thursday’s loss to Northwestern dropped Illinois’ record to 1-4 in Big Ten play and extended the team’s skid to three straight losses.

According to captains Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson, what was discussed in the meeting, frankly, is none of your business.

“It was a players-only meeting so we kept it within us and none of it is going to be let out,” Richardson said.

When Paul was prompted for any kind of detail about the top-secret meeting, he basically said to leave it alone. The only information that slipped out before Paul locked his mouth and threw away the key was a desire to return to the team’s early season identity, when Illinois played a fast-paced style and wins over Butler and Gonzaga seemed like trophies, not flukes.

“It was a lot more fun. We were talking about that a little bit in the meeting. We’re looking to get back to that,” Paul said. “We didn’t want to sit around and not do anything. I think it’s something that definitely helped us as a team, as friends, as teammates on the court. It was definitely necessary for us.”

Even head coach John Groce said he wasn’t exactly sure what happened at the meeting, insisting it was player organized and motivated by a desire to turn the team’s fortunes around.

“They’ve cared for a long time,” Groce said. “I don’t think that changes just because they’ve lost some games. The fact that they’ve gotten together to hold themselves accountable, I think that’s a great sign.”

What’s clear is nobody’s given up. Despite the Illini’s free-fall from a top-10 team to an unranked underachiever, S.O.S. (save our season) flags have yet to wave in the form of insufficient effort in practice. Over the four-day span the team has had to prepare for Tuesday’s game at Nebraska (10-9, 1-5), Groce said the Illini partook in two rigorous practices and one “hard but not as long” session Monday before the team flew to Lincoln, Neb., mid-afternoon.

Groce had a long checklist to accomplish in practice this week: Improve 3-point defense after allowing Wisconsin and Northwestern to shoot a combined 47 percent from distance over the last two games; Preach smart decisions with the ball after the Wildcats forced the Illini into 18 turnovers on Thursday; better defense against screens; more activity on the glass. Efficient offensive possessions; And, most importantly, restore the toughness that made the Illini dangerous earlier this season.

After Illinois’ promising performance in its nonconference schedule, back-to-back losses and a generally tough start to conference play have reignited thoughts of last year’s late-season collapse. Nebraska got a jab in during that stretch, when the Illini’s Feb. 18, trip to the Bob Devaney Sports Center ended in a 80-57 blowout win by the Cornhuskers.

This season, it doesn’t get any easier. First-year head coach Tim Miles’ team hung with Michigan State until the very end of its Jan. 13, loss in East Lansing, Mich., and 6-foot-10, double-digit scoring threat Brandon Ubel, who has missed the last two weeks with a fractured elbow, returned to the floor Saturday in Nebraska’s 68-64 win at Penn State.

The Illini have yet to win on the road in the Big Ten, but Tuesday they’ll get a chance to take that step and avenge last season’s debacle in Lincoln and stop the bleeding.

“Early on, I think guys came out with the mindset that we’ve got something to prove,” Paul said. “We’ve kind of gotten away from that.”

Ethan can be reached at [email protected] and @AsOfTheSky.