For the second consecutive week, Illinois will play a home game at 6 p.m., this time against Minnesota on Thursday night. Fans don’t like it because of the difficulty of getting to the arena for tip-off. The media love it because deadlines aren’t so tight.

You can throw coach Bruce Weber into the group that would prefer late night to early evening. A lot of that probably has to do with last week’s loss to Penn State when the Illini were at their worst in a 6 p.m. start for the Big Ten Network. But Weber said there is more to it.

“Playing at 6 is a tough situation because even though you’re at home, last week we couldn’t have a shootaround,” he said. “The routine was different because of classes. Guys didn’t eat pre-game meals. That all adds up. I’m not making excuses but we rely on preparation and routine and in some ways having games at that time is a disadvantage. Hopefully we learned from it. It’s on Thursday this time, so we might have a few more at shootaround.”

In no way was Weber saying that Illinois played horribly against Penn State because the game started at 6. He was asked a question and gave an honest answer.

He made the point that how the team practices on Tuesday and Wednesday will have a lot more to do with how it performs against Minnesota than having to start before the seats at Assembly Hall are filled.

To that end, he sent some text messages on Tuesday morning to players, emphasizing the need for spirited practices. He hopes to avoid having to “be a little bit of a jerk today.”

“I don’t want to have to get angry,” he said. “I said, ‘You guys be the driving force, not me. But if I have to, I have to do it. If they come with a casual attitude, it makes it easy for me to jump on them.”

For some reason when it comes to discussions about casual play and casual practices, some of the same names seem to get tossed around. Mike Davis and Demetri McCamey are the focal point of constant efforts to remain intense and focused at all times.

And Weber seems to get the most concerned when they are coming off good games. To paraphrase a favorite Weber sentiment: But can they do it two games in a row?

Davis is coming off a 22-point, eight-rebound effort at Ohio State. McCamey had 15 points and seven assists against the Buckeyes. Weber looks at this as a situation where one or both might be apt to live off a big performance. But he believes his point has taken root.

“I think they both understand it now,” he said. “Last year they didn’t understand they were casual and had to play at another level. Now it’s trying to get them to do it on a daily basis. They understand now where we’re coming from.”

Weber was pleased after the Ohio State game when Davis returned to the locker room after doing an interview on CBS. He entered the jubilant room and accepted congratulations from his teammates. Then he uttered a self-deprecating remark.

“But I still can’t guard anybody,” Weber quoted Davis as saying.

After the Penn State disaster, you can bet that Weber will be making sure that everyone is ready to play, from McCamey and Davis to Alex Legion and Bill Cole, reserves he said Tuesday can still have an impact if they take the steps. The bench has not been productive of late, and Weber said it is a goal of the coaches to get some guys back on track, specifically naming Dominique Keller.

If need be, Weber will lean on his assistant coaches to make sure the players understand the importance of being ready every game. That’s often where Wayne McClain often has an impact.

“They don’t always like him because he’s on them,” Weber said. “But the end result is they appreciate and respect him. It’s a long season and sometimes you need your assistants to jump in. If I’m constantly nagging they might turn me off, but if an assistant pops in it might get their attention a little better.”

At this point, Weber and his staff are in need of wins more than they are friends.