Illinois steps onto the court Saturday to begin their journey for a third Big Ten title in four years.

Illinois is ranked no. 12 in the nation.

No one is talking about those things.

The buzz around the basketball team is about the three Illini who will be on the bench when the season starts.

Illinois opens the season against Western Illinois (0-2) at 7 p.m in Assembly Hall without junior guard Luther Head, freshman center Aaron Spears and guard Richard McBride.

That leaves nine Illini to take on the Leathernecks.

"I have some hesitations (about Illinois playing with only nine players)," Weber said. "I'm not sure how we'll play. Some of it will be dictated by competition, who we're playing and how they play. Can we take advantage of it?"

Weber announced Wednesday that Spears and Head will sit out the Illini's first two regular season games after breaking team rules. They have been held out of Illinois' two exhibition games, so they will sit out a total of four games.

McBride also received a four game suspension for breaking team rules. Weber said Thursday that McBride's suspension was not connected with Head and Spears.

Weber singled out forwards junior Roger Powell and freshman Brian Randle as Illini who should see additional minutes in Illinois' first two games.

"If a guy uses (his time on the court) as a positive and produces now, that is the time to get the coaches to feel good about him," Weber said. "Now it's up to them to take advantage of those things."

Randle was a surprise force in Illinois' exhibition victory over the Illinois Spot-Lite Jammers as he scored 11 points off of 5-of-7 shooting while grabbing five rebounds.

"I think the past week and a half or so, for whatever reason, something subconsciously came together," Randle said.

Powell came out strong at the end of last season, as he became a threat to score any time the ball touched his hands. Powell's versatility is helpful for the shorthanded Illini. Weber said he will play Powell at both power forward and small forward.

Western Illinois enters the game having played two games in the Guardians Classic and losing both. Senior guard J.D. Summers leads the team in scoring (13 points a game), while freshman guard T.J. Summers has quickly adjusted to college play (11 points a game).

"We're going through some growing pains and learning how to win," Western Illinois head coach Derek Thomas said.

Other thanksgiving break games

Illinois hosts Mercer while playing at Temple during break. On Nov. 26 Mercer comes to Assembly Hall. Last year Mercer had the largest turnaround in NCAA history. They registered seventeen more wins than in 2001-2002 with a 23-6 record.

"What's really important is we need to rebound well and get to the free-throw line," Mercer head coach Mark Slonaker said. "For us to have a chance we need to control the tempo."

Nov. 29 Illinois goes into the Palestra in Philadelphia to face Temple. Last year the Illini defeated Temple 70-54 at the United Center in Chicago.

"They like to slow things down," Illinois sophomore guard Dee Brown said. "They're long and they like to play that 1-3-1 (matchup zone) all game. It's pretty tough."