Think you know what Illinois can do to snap out of its funk? Vote here.

The sky is not falling ... not yet. But the clouds are parting, and the slumping Illini need some tasty home cooking and a quick infusion of inspiration.

Here's the concern. With eight Big Ten games to go, Bruce Weber's overachievers are coming face to face with a dangerous reality. They can't afford to slip up at the Assembly Hall, and Sunday foe Purdue is now top-ranked in the conference (No. 12 in The Associated Press poll) and boasting a clear advantage in talent if preseason Player of the Year Robbie Hummel is healthy.

Perfect health might not be the case Sunday or this season because the Valparaiso product is battling a stress fracture in the lumbar area, and he didn't play in Tuesday's overtime loss at Ohio State. The pounding associated with competition exacerbates the problem, and the 6-foot-8 sophomore may be a game-time decision from here on in.

Hummel wasn't 100 percent when the Illini shocked Purdue in overtime Dec. 30, no small factor in that outcome. The Illini seemed ultra-confident then but, after entering the new year 13-1, they slipped into an old, familiar pattern. They've gone 4-0 at home and 0-4 on the road. They have skateboarded atop a wave of Assembly Hall support, shooting 49 percent at home but falling off to a dismal 37 percent on the road.

Same 'ol, same 'ol

Such inconsistencies are not unusual. Dating to 1989, when Lou Henson's Final Four team trailed off to 5-4 on conference excursions, the UI's two-decade Big Ten audit is 133-40 (76.9 percent) at the Assembly Hall and 79-97 (44.9 percent) on the road.

In recent days, the Illinois team that paddled Michigan and Wisconsin at home was not the same team that lost to those two in their arenas. Center Mike Tisdale's production tells part of the story. His home numbers show 25 points twice in December, and he tallied 24, 15, eight and 18 in his last four Assembly Hall appearances. But his last three trips brought only eight, four and two points. And the UI's three-point shooting is drastically different home and away. Trent Meacham is battling a 9-for-39 slump, and Alex Legion missed 12 of the last 13 to fall to 10 for 41 this season.

Two Illini greats being honored this weekend will understand. Don Freeman, who averaged a school-record 27.8 points in 1966, played on UI teams that were 16-5 in Big Ten home games and 8-13 away, and Eddie Johnson was 22-14 at the Assembly Hall and 12-24 on the road.

It has ever been thus. And if the shot-making at Minnesota (29 percent) and Wisconsin (32.8) was putrid, Weber isn't inclined to experiment with battlefield promotions after his subs went 4 for 25 from the field with one assist in 64 minutes at Wisconsin.

"Dominique (Keller) has been playing better, but he (and Calvin Brock) went 2 for 7," Weber said. "It's not like we're getting a big lift from the bench."

Time is now

Analyzing the recent slump, which included a 62-54 win against a weak Iowa club, Weber said:

"Our problems are a mixture of not making shots, taking quick shots and dribbling too much. We don't have the physical capabilities to take people off the dribble. It would help if we could get some easy baskets. We outrebounded Wisconsin by 11 (and by 17-8 in offensive boards) but they outscored us on second-chance points, 13-12.

"We have some sensitive players. Tisdale hangs his feelings on his sleeve and tends to get down on himself. We need points in the paint, and it hurt when he got in foul trouble Thursday night. He has to learn how to mentally fight through the tough times. Mike Davis is the same."

Weber frets about "team toughness," which he "feared was a question mark when the season began."

He added: "Showing toughness isn't pounding your chest after a dunk. It is blocking out, setting screens and getting a defensive stop when you need it."

Purdue was the poster child for toughness during the Gene Keady years. That is developing again with the grittiness of Hummel and Chris Kramer as they struggle with injuries, the dramatic improvement of center JaJuan Johnson and the experienced guard play of Keaton Grant and E'Twaun Moore.

Weber's Illini can sew the clouds back together Sunday and take a big step in their NCAA tournament quest, but only with an inspired, gut-check performance that does not resemble the last three.

Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette. He can be reached at ltate@news-gazette.com.