CANCUN, Mexico — As the sun beat down on the Moon Palace Resort, a palatial compound fit for a king, the Illinois players huddled to figure out their next move.

Hit one of three swimming pools, all roughly the size of Clinton Lake?

Crash into the waves? The gulf seemed angry Monday. That could be fun.

"I'm going to the beach," Nnanna Egwu said. "Check that out."

"It's good to be in some heat in November," Tracy Abrams added.

Someone get Joseph Bertrand out of his room. He's got his eye on that Jacuzzi again.

"You've got a hot tub in the rooms. I fell asleep in there last night," Bertrand said. "I was in there for a while. I woke up and (water) was on the floor."

Test one of the property's 15 restaurants?

"I've never been to an all-inclusive (resort) before," coach Bruce Weber said. "I think some of the kids ordered room service three times last night just to do it."

Tough gig, huh?

Their priorities change today, when Illinois plays Richmond in the Cancun Challenge (8:30 p.m., CBS College Sports). Illinois State and Rutgers meet in the other semifinal.

For all the options afforded by their vast resort — "I'm going to get my tan on," Meyers Leonard said — the Illini arrived with a singular mission.

Illinois (3-0) hasn't won a holiday tournament since the South Padre Invitational in 2008. The UI went 0-2 at the Las Vegas Invitational in 2009 and 1-1 at the Coaches vs. Cancer event in New York City last year.

That doesn't qualify as a drought, really. Even so, Weber said this week is "very important" in the development of his new team. He wants to build a winning culture on a roster that features six freshmen, the UI's core for the next few seasons. He wants them to respect the opponent, regardless of the jersey, but learn how to win in a tournament setting.

"That was my emphasis (in practice Monday): getting that competitive spirit and coming in here to win," Weber said outside the gymnasium. "But it's not going to be easy.

"The Richmond game is a hard game. It's great for us for the future. But I'm not sure it's great now. It's one thing to win those three games at home. It's another thing to go to a neutral site and beat a team that plays a complicated style."

In some ways, Richmond (3-1) has what Illinois wants: the expectation of winning. The Spiders have won two straight holiday tournaments, beating Mississippi State and Missouri in the 2009 South Padre Invitational and Purdue in the 2010 Chicago Invitational Challenge. The Spiders also are coming off a Sweet 16 last March, though their top three scorers are gone.

"It's going to be a test for us having back-to-back games and seeing how we deal with adversity," Egwu said.

"It's something we definitely want to win," Bertrand said. "We haven't won a tournament in three years."

This is where the Illini's trip to Italy can pay dividends. For most teams, the holiday tournaments represent their first games away from home. But the Illini played five games or scrimmages in foreign gyms in August. Richmond lost last week at Davidson.

Illinois State, on the other side of the bracket, also took a basketball tour through Canada.

"I think the experience in Italy, playing all those games, getting all those (10) practices, that's where it pays off," senior Sam Maniscalco said. "This would be new to a lot of these guys. But now they've seen it and know what it takes to win in that environment."

Due to a flight delay the Illini arrived in Cancun later than expected Sunday. On Monday there was a two-hour practice, much of it devoted to preparation for Richmond's long possessions and backdoor cuts on offense and matchup zone defense.

The Richmond game is one case where the Illini's youth could be a blessing. The younger players still are learning the Illini's defensive principles. Those principles aren't ingrained quite yet. So they won't have to completely alter how they defend Richmond.

"You just have to be disciplined on defense and pay attention to what's going on," Maniscalco said.

It should be interesting to see how the new Illini handle a challenge, as well. In three games, the Illini have trailed for 1 minute, 20 seconds, out of a possible 120 minutes.

Despite myriad opportunities at their resort, the Illini, for the most part, have the type of players who know when to shut off fun mode and get into game mode. Weber said the players will have Thursday — when the tournament is over — to go sightseeing.

"I told them, 'Go to the pool and have lunch and a burger,' " Weber said. "But we can't have them stay in the sun too long."

As the team left the gymnasium Monday, the temperature outside was 84 degrees, and a buffet downstairs offered all the fish tacos they could manage. Their resort certainly is all-inclusive — except for a guaranteed tournament title. That's up to the Illini.

"I'm excited to win the championship. That's the main thing about being down here," Abrams said. "It's been a few years since Illinois has won any championships. It would be a great opportunity to be a part of a team that wins a championship."