Time to empty the notebook as the temperature hovers at minus-5 in Champaign:

Ten days made a world of difference for Mike Tisdale, who seemed lost on the court in Ann Arbor when the Illini lost their first meeting with Michigan. In the rematch, he was a factor at both ends of the floor and didn’t seem out of place in a game that seemed built for the little guys,.

The big guys scored 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting and played 34 minutes. In the first meeting he had seven points in 22 minutes. He held DeShawn Sims to seven points on 3-of-14 shooting after being burned by Sims and Zack Gibson at Michigan.

“I thought his defense was much better, which allowed us to keep him in the game,” coach Bruce Weber said. “He got so down and frustrated at Michigan, hanging his head, and he couldn’t guard Sims, couldn’t guard Gibson, couldn’t guard anybody.

“I talked to him after that game. I said, ‘At least compete. Fight the guys. Don’t just give in. If you have to foul them. Do something but be aggressive.’ And he was much more aggressive.”

Tisale offered a similar analysis of why he was successful against Sims the second time around.

“It’s aggression,” he said. “Up (at Michigan) I stayed off him to make him a shooter and he obviously did that. Today we pushed up on him and tried to make him control it.”

Tisdale is one of the players who Weber constantly says is impacted by his own lack of confidence at times. That first Michigan game was one such time.

But one thing the coach likes about Tisdale is that he’s always willing to talk about his game and soak up the advice the coaches offer. He spends more time around the basketball offices than any player and that has worked to his advantage.

“A lot of times guys come in when they have good days. They don’t want to come in when they have bad days,” Weber said. “That allows us to talk to him. He listens. He’s coachable. He’s just a young kid. Sometimes he gets so down on himself. I think he beats himself up more than anybody.” …

Weber felt the Illini were too hyped up in the first half. He tried repeatedly to get them to slow down offensively but kept watching as they rushed shots with little passing and got completely out of their game.

“During three straight timeouts I said, ‘We have to slow down. We have to be patient,’ ” Weber said.

The message at halftime?

“Slow down and take care of the ball,” guard Calvin Brock said. “It seemed we were trying to score on the first pass and none of the shots were falling. They were getting fast breaks, so coaches wanted us to slow down and take care of the ball and make them play defense for 35 seconds.” …

Here’s an area that seems to get mentioned after every game lately. Although the Illini outrebounded the Wolverines 35-30, Weber focused on Michigan’s 14 offensive rebounds. They scored 15 second-chance points and were especially effective on the offensive boards in the first half.

For the season, opponents now have 210 offensive rebounds and the Illini have 172. That means opponents are routinely getting more second-chance opportunities.

“Rebounding is still a question mark with us,” Weber said. “We don’t pursue the ball. We talk about it. It seems our guards did a little better job. But it seemed they beat us to the ball. The freshman (Zack) Novak seemed to get every rebound. (He had nine). …

As Alex Legion continues to have trouble earning minutes, Jeff Jordan’s stock is on the rise. He played 10 minutes, played solid defense, didn’t make mistakes with the ball and made his only shot. And now Weber is vowing to give the sophomore walk-on more minutes. But at who’s expense?

“We’re gaining confidence in him,” Weber said. ”Sometimes we pull the hook on him. I have to keep Chester fresh, Demetri fresh, Trent. He’s taken on a role of being a pest, pressuring the ball and guarding well. He can push the ball and he hits his open shots. I’d say from now on, I hope we can get him eight, 12 minutes a game because he’s developed as a player.”

Might we start seeing more of MJ at Assembly Hall? …

Weber was pleased with Demetri McCamey’s defense after he seemed to get lost at times in the first Michigan game. Weber noted that McCamey “fell asleep” at times in Ann Arbor when his player wasn’t moving, then lost that player when he did move.

“He guarded and he doesn’t always have a tendency to guard,” Weber saiad. “His concentration was much better. Since he got back from the break I’ve been on him — I’m always on him — trying to get him to lose a little weight, get a little extra conditioning. I hope all that stuff helps.”

Michigan coach John Beilein was impressed with the sophomore.

“McCamey played like he’s a fifth-yera guy,” he said. “He made some great decisions out there.” …

The quote of the night came from Beilein when he was asked the difference between the first and second meetings between the teams:

“I don’t know. What was the difference when Athens went to Sparta and Sparta went to Athens?” …

As Illinois prepares for its next challenge at Michigan State, Calvin Brock offered this picture of what the players will experience.

“The student section is out before you get out for warmups,” he said. “They know your whole bio and they’re talking trash an hour before the game.”