The Illini talked all season about needing a win they could build upon. It is sometimes amazing how a struggling team can win one game and suddenly go on a win streak.

Illinois thought it had that win on more than one occasion but could never build anything. Who knows why they now have a four-game win streak, the longest of the season? But they have finally started to build on their success.

“I think we’ve all changed,’’ guard Trent Meacham said. “We’re all starting to get it a little more, believing and coming together.’’

It is in large part a tribute to coach Bruce Weber, who some believed had lost this group during the disastrous Big Ten season. This wouldn’t be happening if players had jumped ship.

He handled some attitude problems and the players have responded. Illinois wouldn’t be in this position without major contributions in recent days from Shaun Pruitt and Demetri McCamey, both of whom were punished in recent months for unacceptable behavior.

Weber also has made adjustments that have worked and he is sticking with them. He has played his starters longer minutes the last three days despite knowing they have to be able to win four games in four days.

He has used a select group of reserves, relying more on Mike Davis and Jeff Jordan while apparently shelving Rodney Alexander.

And although the Illini aren’t where he thinks they should be, Weber seems to have a certain feeling of accomplishment for still being alive.

“We didn’t take care of business the way we should all season,’’ he said. “But we kept together. We had some very frustrating losses and could have given up to be honest, but we didn’t.’’

Brian Randle was considered lost for the season a few weeks back. But his shoulder injury wasn’t as bad as expected, and he’s made the most of his last chance by averaging 12.3 points and five rebounds in the tournament.

Shaun Pruitt continues to play well down the stretch and seems to have discovered a new enthusiasm for the game. He has averaged 13.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in Indy but seemed most proud Saturday about leading the Illini on the play-hard chart, where points are awarded for hustle plays.

“It was the highest I’ve had all season,’’ he said. “I was happy about that. It’s something that helps the team when a player gives up his body like that.’’

And when was the last time you saw Pruitt ahead of the defense, running the floor and dunking?

There is clearly a different feeling around the team, but finding enough energy and execution to beat a top-10 team today is a tall order. But the last three days have Weber believing.

“I don’t know if they just realize it’s the end of the season and this is do or die,’’ he said, “but they have finally come together.’’

In both games he outscored the more highly touted freshman, and now coach Bruce Weber wants to see it more consistently. In fact, Weber said he challenged some players to prove in the tournament that they were deserving of honors from the Big Ten.

“I brought it up all along, and something I tried to sell was that if you win, you get honors,’’ Weber said. “I said if you think you should have been (honored), here’s your chance to show some people maybe you were good enough. You have one more opportunity. Maybe he took advantage. And now he has to come back if it’s going to mean something.’’

The Big Ten all-freshman team included Gordon, Moore, Michigan’s Manny Harris, Purdue’s Robbie Hummel and Ohio State’s Kosta Koufos.

Considering the company, McCamey wasn’t exactly slighted because his emergence came late. But he said he didn’t find any extra motivation in not making the team.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with the freshman class and comparing us,’’ he said. “It’s about trying to win a game. I’m trying to get us back on the map, and it doesn’t matter if I’m first team, third team or not even mentioned.’’

Several Illinois freshmen played huge roles against Purdue. They scored 40 of the team’s 67 points. Mike Davis made a bid for more playing time by telling Weber before the game that the Illini were 8-2 in games that he played more than 15 minutes.

Weber gave him 17 minutes against the Boilermakers, and Davis responded with 10 points on five-of-seven shooting, including a pair of baskets in the overtime. Jeff Jordan played a career-high 15 minutes and scored four points, helping in place of Trent Meacham.

Davis saw some additional time because Brian Randle ran into foul trouble in the first half and fouled out in the overtime.

“Brian got in foul trouble and he told me to go in and play with confidence,’’ Davis said.

Illinois has had to rely on freshmen since the decision was made not to redshirt any, including Mike Tisdale and Bill Cole. The mix of veterans has largely been unproductive. But on this night, the freshmen did more than their share.

The bench provided 35 minutes of relief in the 64-63 win over Penn State. The only game when the reserves played less was at Indiana when they were allotted 34 minutes.

By comparison, the bench had played an average of 60.8 minutes per game during the Big Ten schedule.

The starting guards earned a good dinner as Trent Meacham went 39 minutes, Chester Frazier 36 and Demetri McCamey 35.

It will be interesting to see what kind of life the Illini have in their legs for tonight’s quarterfinal matchup with Purdue. Especially those players who have been dealing with injuries.

Frazier fought through a combination of Osgood Schlatter’s disease in one knee and tendinitis in the other. Brian Randle continued to fight off the effects of a separated shoulder suffered a few weeks back.

Mike Tisdale saw 10 minutes of action despite limited practice this week due to a sore knee. And Rodney Alexander didn’t play at all, although Weber said he has recovered from a concussion.

“He practiced a little bit but the way the game was going, we made the decision not to go with him,’’ Weber said of Alexander. “Brian seems OK. He plays with some pain, but he’s back to fouling to maybe he’s feeling better.

“Chester is probably the worst of all the guys. We have to get him sitting in bed, get it iced and see if we can get enough energy out of him.’’

Frazier said he would be fine. He planned to spend a lot of time with the ice bag Thursday night, receive some electric stimulation and possibly take some anti inflammatory medicine.

Tisdale said he overstretched his leg this week and described his knee as being “a little sore.’’

Randle said he was largely pain free, adding “This is the end of the line for me. So as long as I can be on the court, I’m going to give it what I have.’’

Some might have thought the popular walk-on would get to start on Senior Day, play a minute and then leave. But with under a minute remaining, Hicks still hadn’t entered the game.

The chant started again, and with 55 seconds remaining coach Bruce Weber inserted Hicks with the Illini leading by eight points. Then he lost his man on defense, gave up a 3-pointer and returned to the bench until the final seconds of the Illini’s 67-58 win.

Given one last opportunity, Hicks was thrown an in-bound pass and threw up a 3-pointer that hit nothing but net. It was an unnecessary but nice ending to his three seasons in the program.

“Chris Hicks is a great story,’’ Weber said. “I don’t think they’ll make a movie about him like Rudy. But he did the tryouts. The first year he got cut and he came back. He comes to practice every day with a smile and energy and understands his role. … He truly appreciates it. He’s a fan favorite because of his good nature and how he is as a person.’’

In three years, the 6-2 guard from Chicago has played in 32 games for an average of 1.8 minutes. He has scored 18 points with half coming on free throws. Before Saturday, he had missed all 13 3-pointers he had attempted.

“I was jumping around,” center Shaun Pruitt said. “It was meant to be. He’s like the unsung hero. He’s our energy guy who motivates us.”

When the seniors addressed the crowd after the game, Hicks thanks the fans for making a little boy’s dream come true.

Before making the team, he worked as a student trainer for the school’s track program. He was majoring in athletic training. But when he made the team in the fall of 2005, Hicks switched his major to kinesiology so he could handle the load.

“I knew it would be rough being in basketball and making it in life and doing the school work,’’ he said. “I would have regretted the decision not to try (basketball). It was too much fun.’’

After being cut the first year, Hicks sent a letter to assistant coach Wayne McClain so the coaches would know who he was. By his own evaluation, the former player at Whitney Young High, who averaged 12 points as a senior, dominated in his second tryout.

He has one more year of eligibility but has decided this will be the end of the road. He hopes to get into medical school and will begin that process when the season ends.

Weber apologized after Saturday’s game to Minnesota coach Tubby Smith for Hicks’ 3-pointer. Illinois coaches tell players not to take such shots when a game is decided.

But Weber knew when Hicks caught the pass that he wasn’t going to let the game end with the ball in his hands. Hicks smiled in Weber’s direction and let it fly.

When Weber approached Smith, the veteran coach seemed to react as if he knew what the moment meant to Hicks.

Said Weber: “He said, ‘Man, he’s a good shooter.’ ’’

Brian Randle might have been lost for the rest of the season with a sprained right shoulder that could require surgery. Demetri McCamey didn’t start and sought an attitude adjustment on the bench. Brian Carlwell announced he was leaving the program.

Negatives came from every corner and eventually a loss to Wisconsin in a rare game where the Illini never seemed to have a chance in the second half.

“There was some frustration,’’ coach Bruce Weber said. “Basically they frustrated us and never gave us a chance to get back in the game.’’

Illinois likely faces its final four regular season games without five scholarship players – Randle, Carlwell, Bill Cole (stress fracture), Richard Semrau (knee) and Jamar Smith (suspension). Seven scholarship players are available.

Granted, only Randle has played a key role this season, but it’s just another sign that a turnaround was not meant to be.

If Randle is done, it is sadly ironic that he will end his injury-riddled career with an injury similar to the one that required surgery and ended his freshman year.

The athletic forward has been an enigma, never living up to expectations that probably reached unrealistic heights when he was named to the watch list for the Wooden Award before the 2006-07 season.

“My heart goes out to Brian,’’ Weber said. “It could be questionable for the rest of the season, to be honest. He’s a great kid, who truly cares, and this will be his fourth or fifth major injury.’’

Meanwhile, Weber is dealing with a freshman point guard who at times needs an attitude adjustment. Incidents last weekend at Penn State apparently led to McCamey starting Thursday’s game on the bench.

Weber spoke at length to McCamey about the situation and also talked to his mother to explain. McCamey said his teammates agreed on the punishment and he seemed understanding.

He responded by scoring all 18 of his points against Wisconsin in the second half, providing the only consistent source of offense for the Illini in the final 20 minutes.

“He has to learn to listen and be coachable,’’ Weber said. “He’s an unbelievably talented kid, but his attitude has got to be right. And if he does that … he has a chance to be very, very special and he showed that in the second half.’’

McCamey became the second player to receive punishment for reasons of attitude in the last month. Center Shaun Pruitt was suspended for the game at Ohio State.

Largely forgotten among those developments on Wednesday was Carlwell’s decision. We might never know what hell the pleasant 6-11 sophomore has endured in the last year after landing in critical condition with injuries resulting from Smith’s accident.

Carlwell had shown signs last season of being a player who could provide solid minutes throughout his career. Then came the accident, the lengthy recovery and the weight gain. Then he injured a knee in November, effectively ending this season with only five minutes played in three games.

“We’ve talked the last couple of weeks about making a go of it, putting the time in,’’ Weber said. “We wanted him here, but it had to be with the right commitment. … I guess he made the decision he did not want to do that.

“If he decides he wants to come back, we’ll discuss that. If not, we’ll help him finish with good academic standing and help him find a school. But he still has to make a decision to put in the time, no matter where he goes.’’