Randle injury could haunt Illini

CHAMPAIGN -- After absorbing arguably the most unsettling loss in his tenure as Illinois coach, Bruce Weber could only hope the news wouldn't get any worse.

As the Illini plod toward Thursday's Big Ten opener against Ohio State, it's unknown whether they will have senior forward Brian Randle available. Randle, the team's third-leading scorer (10.5 ppg), suffered a head injury late in the first half of Sunday's loss to Tennessee State.

The senior crashed to the floor after a Tennessee State miss with 2:10 left in the first half. Weber thought Randle took an elbow to the head on a rebound.

"It's like a mild concussion," Weber said. "They're doing all the tests right now, just to make sure it's not worse than they think."

Randle had 6 points and 6 rebounds before the injury.

"He was the one who was playing," Weber said. "He had some energy."

Weber could shuffle his lineup for Thursday, depending on Randle's status. Freshman forward Mike Davis had 3 points and 4 rebounds in 21 minutes of relief duty Sunday.

Randle had to be helped to the locker room and didn't appear in the second half.

"I know he has a headache, that's for sure," Weber said.

Bursting bubbles: Last week, Bruce Weber proclaimed that Illinois was two possessions away from being a Top 25 team. After Sunday's loss to Tennessee State, which entered with an RPI of 184, Illinois needs a strong Big Ten surge to gain NCAA Tournament consideration, much less votes in the polls.

"We better find a way to do something in the Big Ten and be up in the top part," Weber said. "Obviously, it's a major setback."

Trent's time: Eclipsed by Sunday's loss was an impressive effort from Illini guard Trent Meacham, who scored 24 points on 6-of-12 shooting and added a career-high 8 rebounds. Meacham scored 18 points in the second half, but he was in no mood to relish his performance.

"We're humbled right now," he said. "We're down. … This is probably the toughest loss I've had since I've been here."

Illini bits: Starting guard Calvin Brock went scoreless for the first time this season. … The Illini posted their best rebounding margin (plus 16) of the year.