Emtpying the notebook and celebrating the upcoming nine-day layoff by stopping for a night of sleep in Effingham. …

There were periods of time when tonight’s game was hard to watch, and I suppose a combined 44 turnovers by two teams will do that. And then you wondered, how the heck can Illinois be leading Chicago State by only nine points almost midway through the second half?

But just as quickly, the Illini decided to enter their much deserved break in the schedule by finishing off  the Cougars with a 39-10 run to end the game. Coach Bruce Weber was much happier with this conclusion than the final minutes against Hawaii two nights earlier when Illinois let the final margin dwindle to 10 points.

“We allowed them to stay in it and it got down to nine,” Weber said of Chicago State. “I said, ‘Let’s just start with three shutouts in a row (on defense)’ and then I said, ‘Let’s do it again’ and we got a couple more. And that was the difference. We broke their spirit. We didn’t break Hawaii’s spirit and let them hang in there.”

But watching Weber throughout the game, his frustrations were obvious. He might have set a record for that frustrated plop he takes into his seat when he becomes overly agitated by something like an errant behind-the-back pass or another offensive rebound by the opponent.

Ultimately, though, being 9-1 is acceptable to Weber if the team takes advantage of the next nine days to improve on some of its shortcomings before playing Detroit and Missouri before Christmas.

“We have a chance to be pretty good, but it’s not going to happen if we think we’re great individuals,” he said. …

It was a good night for Jeff Jordan, who played 16 minutes after seeing 18 minutes against Hawaii. Some of that playing time was to give Chester Frazier and his sore thigh some rest. He attempted only one shot in each of those games, but Weber is becoming happier with his defense and he had a career-best six assists against Chicago State.

“Against Hawaii he did the things we’ve been asking — pressuring and pushing the ball,” Weber said. “The first time he went in he maybe struggled a little but he did come back. I thought he was good. Somebody teased him, ‘You’re shooting too much.’ He’ll help us out if he does the things he’s good at.” …

Fans received posters of walk-on guard Bubba Chisholm, who then celebrated the night by scoring his first collegiate point in the closing minutes. Chisholm played the last two minutes and had a steal, a rebound and made one of two free throws.

“They had posters and everything for him,” guard Trent Meacham said, “so we wanted to get him in there.” …

Alex Legion can play his first game against Detroit on Dec. 20, and Weber wants to be able to get him a game before facing Missouri. But his debut is not written in stone because he can’t play until semester grades are posted.

“Hopefully Alex will (play),” Weber said. “It’s not a done deal but if all goes well he’ll be able to play and that will help get him in the mix.” …

Weber suggested that forward Mike Davis might have become too focused on his scoring. That was his explanation for the sophomore’s struggles through much of the Chicago State game as he missed his first five shots and was scoreless until making a free throw with 11:55 left.

“When you worry about scoring, that’s when you can’t get the ball in the hoop,” Weber said. “If you worry about playing your butt off and competiting, the rhythm comes offensively. I think he got to that point tonight.”

Davis finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. …

Illinois forced 29 turnovers and has forced an average of 26 in the last three games.