CHAMPAIGN — Late Saturday night, hours after a loss to Purdue in the Big Ten tournament, three Illinois players convened in an Indianapolis hotel.

"It was just me, Chester (Frazier) and Jeff (Jordan) in the room," junior Dominique Keller said. "Chester was telling me that he thinks guys could be more vocal, that he doesn't think we're going as hard as we can."

From there, Frazier called a players-only meeting.

"I didn't know they had a meeting," coach Bruce Weber said.

Frazier, a senior co-captain, wanted to get their heads straight before entering a stage the likes of which most of the Illini have never experienced: the NCAA tournament. No. 5 seed Illinois will play No. 12 seed Western Kentucky in the first round of the South Regional at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore., at 9 p.m. Thursday (WCIA).

"I just wanted to remind the guys there's still a lot to play for. Not only for this year, but for the rest of their careers," Frazier said Sunday. "I wanted to remind them it goes by really quick."

"We all went to his room," added sophomore Mike Davis, one of 11 players on the UI roster that has only watched the Big Dance. "Everybody talked about another person's flaw and what they need to fix before the tournament."

That is a team-building practice Frazier learned from Weber, who took it from former NBA coach Flip Saunders. And calling a players-only meeting is the kind of elder guidance these Illini — baby-young in terms of NCAA tournament experience — might need for a March run.

Only three of the players have participated in an NCAA tournament: seniors Chester Frazier (56 minutes in three games), Calvin Brock (18 minutes in two games) and Trent Meacham (13 minutes in one).

On the other hand, Davis, for example, joked his experience with the NCAA tournament was watching Chris Webber's infamous timeout, Stephen Curry's scoring outbursts and Christian Laettner's buzzer beater.

"I started talking about the tournament about three weeks ago (to prepare them)," said coach Bruce Weber, who, as a graduate assistant, spent eight months at Western Kentucky to start his coaching career in 1979-80. "I just started bringing up scenarios, our scenario with Virginia Tech (in 2007). We were a 12 (seed) then and Virginia Tech was a 5. And we felt we should have won that game."

Western Kentucky is on the opposite end of the experience spectrum. Six current players played in a Sweet 16 loss to UCLA last season. In the second round, Illinois could play No. 4 Gonzaga, with its veteran roster and 11 straight tournament appearances. Still, Weber, who's coaching in his 20th NCAA tournament, isn't convinced tournament experience plays a major role in the outcome.

"My one SIU team (in 2002), we didn't have anyone that had ever been in the NCAA tournament and we went to the Sweet 16," Weber said.

Illinois experienced a more comfortable disposition than on the past two Selection Sundays. In 2007, the Illini slipped in the back door with a No. 12 seed. Last year its tournament aspirations were buried by a loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament championship.

"I think the Big Ten tournament's a great tuneup for the (NCAA) tournament. I think the Missouri game is a great tuneup for the tournament," Meacham said. "Those environments are real similar. But the NCAA tournament is up another level. It's what you play for."