The Illinois starters have received a severe workout the last two games as coach Bruce Weber has shortened the bench and increased their playing time. The starting five was up to the task Sunday when the bench received fewer minutes than any game this season.

But Weber said the move hasn’t necessarily been calculated but rather was the result of poor play by the reserves against Penn State and the stellar play of the starters on Sunday.

“It’s just game by game and how guys are playing,” he said. “Against Penn State, someone was 0-for-3 with three turnovers (Calvin Brock), another had three fouls and two turnovers (Dominique Keller) and someone 0-for-3 from 3 (Alex Legion). Yesterday it was a matter of the game with CBS (televising) and long timeouts and they were playing zone, so you don’t have the grind. And the five starters were playing well. If they’re playing good, why rotate it?”

Before the Penn State game, the bench had received an average of 57 minutes of playing time. The reserves played a season-low 30 minutes against Penn State and then another season-low of 23 minutes at Ohio State.

Their total contribution in those games: six points, six rebounds. Legion didn’t get into the game on Sunday, the first time he has failed to play since becoming eligible.

Every starter played at least 30 minutes against the Buckeyes in a sharp, crisp performance. Weber said game conditioning is not an issue, even after a grueling stretch of Big Ten games.

“Practice is where it really takes a toll, but a lot of that is mental,” he said. “We can go an hour, an hour and 10 minutes and Chester, who can go forever in a game, you just see the agony on his face after a certain point in practice. But practice is different. You have to go the whole time with no rest period where in games you have timeouts and free throws.

“That’s key over the course of time. I learned a long time ago at Purdue, coach (Gene) Keady had to change as you got deeper into (the season). You’d have to cut 15, 20 minutes off practice to keep them fresh and happy.”