Time to empty the notebook after Illinois led from wire-to-wire in defending its national ranking for the first time:

The first time you see Dominique Keller play, it’s hard to imagine how he ever puts the ball in the basket with his indescribably odd-looking shot. In fact, it’s sometimes still hard to believe after 19 games.

After scoring 12 points and sparking an early surge against Ohio State, Keller said coach Bruce Weber and assistant Gary Nottingham toyed with altering his shot when he first arrived. But it has proved effective enough that Keller is shooting 54 percent after the win.

And his teammates have quit giving him trouble as well.

“They don’t say nothing about it,” he said. “At first they did. But when I started hitting, they shut up about it. I know it’s an awkward shot, but my coaches always told me the name of the game was putting the ball in the basket. It can look however it wants as long as it goes in.”

Keller talked about studying tape of Ohio State and taking advantage of a crack in the Buckeyes’ zone defense early in the game. Weber said Keller has rarely watched film with the coaches and hopes it’s something he’ll consider more often.

“Let’s just say he thinks we have a disease and doesn’t want to come near us,” Weber said. “In junior college they may not even have film. It’s hard to take the criticism. For anybody it’s hard.”

But Weber said he told Keller if he wants more minutes, he needs to spend more time watching video and learning the game. …

Trent Meacham is in a serious shooting funk that includes an 0-for-5 outing against Ohio State. In the last three games he has made two of 17 3-pointers, and he’s 10 for 33 in the Big Ten. Meacham made up for the lack of shooting against Ohio State with four assists and added some solid defense on William Buford in the second half.

“I think he’s starting to think a little,” Weber said. “He’s tweaking his shot a little, just like baseball when you get your elbow out. He just needs gym time to get it back.” …

Weber was asked if he thought the Illini were a contender for the Big Ten championship. The Ilini are tied for second at 4-2 with Minnesota and Purdue and Wisconsin, which visits Champaign on Saturday, are 3-2.

“We’ve got to get another road win and take care of business at home,” he said. “Then we’ve got a chance. We had a chance to take a step forward Saturday. Now we have to worry about the Badgers. It doesn’t get any easier.” …

Chester Frazier had indicated he would talk to some players about bad attitudes he witnessed in the closing minutes at Michigan State and apparently he did just that. Demetri McCamey indicated that seniors Frazier and Trent Meacham were vocal when the team returned home.

“Chester and Trent talked a lot after Michigan State,” McCamey said. “We had a couple of people fussing when we got down four points to a top-10 team. We can’t do that. We did it last year and it cost us games. We got together and said we have to keep our composure like at Purdue and keep feeling happy.” …

Ohio State was coming off a win at No. 25 Michigan, a place the Illini couldn’t win. And although the Buckeyes already had other wins over ranked opponents, coach Thad Matt said his players might have gotten big heads over the latest win.

“I tried to explain we’re not even close to where we need to be in regard to how we’re playing and that consistency,” Matta said. “I don’t know for sure if they were feeling that, but I know they don’t feel that anymore.” …

Besides playing good defense on Ohio State forward Evan Turner, Chester Frazier scored 10 points, reaching double digits for the first time since scoring 14 against Hawaii. He made three of four shots, including both of his 3-pointers.

“We did actually talk to him about being a threat, especially against the zone,” Weber said. “He made them early in the year. We don’t need crazy pull-ups or floaters. Just be basic and be a threat. It’s a little confidence builder and maybe he’ll feel a little more a part of it.”

Frazier has made 37.8 percent of his 3-pointers this season. In his first three seasons he shot 27.9 percent from behind the arc. …

Fans were handed mini flags before the game and asked to wave them before the game and during tip-off. It was a semi celebration of the inauguration of Barack Obama, and Weber acknowledged that the presidential race had been a large topic of conversation among players before the election.

“They have talked about the presidential race all the way through and on election day were talking trash with each other,” Weber said. “A lot of guys are very pro-Obama. It was an election that meant a lot on college campuses this time.”

Keller ran onto the court before the game with a flag and handed it to an Orange Krush member.

“That’s why I ran out with a flag. I was happy we finally got a black president,” he said. “It’s about time.”