CHAMPAIGN – Illini freshman forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili reluctantly met with media Friday morning along the side of the State Farm Center court. Rubbing his head while to trying to explain his uncharacteristic shyness, Bezhanishvili said he didn’t have the kind of performance in the 86-75 loss at Minnesota that warranted time in front of the microphones.

“I didn’t play well enough to have an interview,’’ said Bezhanishvili, who is rarely at a loss for words.

That’s OK. Sometimes the talking points are what must improve before the Illini can make a run away from the bottom depths of the Big Ten Conference standings. A team that grabbed the game by the throat in an upset win over No. 13 Maryland regressed in the final minutes of the second half at Minnesota, a team the Illini pounded by 27 points just two weeks earlier.

With enthusiasm trying to bubble to the surface from a promising freshman class and a string of home games to start the second half of Big Ten play, there’s a ray of hope the Illini can climb out of its malaise. It’s a steep hill, of course, in a conference with national title contenders and teams ready to tear up your bracket in March Madness. Yet coach Brad Underwood has a list of DIY improvements.

Without them, the Illini restoration project will slow.

Essentially, wins won’t come on the road until there is improved toughness and consistency. These freshmen are freshmen, so it’s easier to win at home. But the Illini won’t truly become dangerous until take their game on the road.

“Maturity on the road,’’ said Underwood, when asked about what needs to happen in the next 10 games. “There’s an attitude you have to have. It’s almost us against the world. You have to find a little different place to go mentally when you’re on the road. We’re still not tough enough quite yet to do that. I thought maybe against Maryland we grew in that area, even though it was a neutral site game. When it goes bad on the road, it steam rolls into a second or third thing.’’

Against Minnesota, Bezhanishvili struggled against Gophers big man Jordan Murphy and lost his cool. Then Bezhanishvili failed to complete something as simple as calling out screens.

“Our motto is quiet teams lose,’’ Underwood said.

Something as simple as calling out a screen, a fundamental the Illini began practicing on June 6, Underwood said.

“Having the recognition to see that, make the call becomes a problem,’’ Underwood said. “It rears its head at some of the worst times.’’

Bezhanishvili thought he was getting the short end of it when it comes to officiating, so the anger, or immaturity on the road, kept him from completing his duties.

“I wasn’t mentally ready,’’ Bezhanishvili said “That’s a personal thing. I thought personally I didn’t get any calls, which wasn’t true. I was just frustrated. That should not happen. It happened, and I learned from it, and you move on.

“There were a couple of games where emotion that got the better of me. It impacted the team hugely. I was really down on myself that I let the team down.’’

Murphy finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Bezhanishvili looked like a rookie freshman.

“The whole game in general, I wasn’t ready,’’ he said. “That was me, too, on the ball screens. I wasn’t telling guys what to do. They scored all the time. Yesterday and today, we communicated a lot more. We have to talk a lot more. That just wasn’t me. I was frustrated. I let my teammates down.’’

With Bezhanishvili, it’s typically getting him calmed down rather than motivating him to go harder.

“He’s so wired sometimes that we have to settle him down,’’ Underwood said. “. We have to get him going the other way. Slow down. He had the challenge of Jordan Murphy.

Offensively, (Bezhanishvili) struggled. He’s usually much stronger on the defensive end than the offensive end. He got frustrated and emotional. He thought couple calls he should have had and didn’t. He got emotional. He has to play through it and not react to it.’’

Some folks call all of these growing pains.

Underwood wasn’t trying to throw Bezhanishvili under the bus, but the Illini are only as strong as their weakest link.

“One guy out there defensively not communicating, it hinders us,’’ Underwood said. “We were great against Maryland. Give Minnesota credit. They capitalized on it.’’

Like Bezhanishvili, guard Ayo Dosunmu was also quiet in the box score. Nonetheless, the Illini had a chance to grab the game by the neck in the second half. Bezhanishvili said there’s been infinite improvement with the Illini since that first meeting with Nebraska in early December.

“We play a lot more as a team,’’ he said. “We play for each other a lot more. It has to be like that. We have to keep it growing.’’

But Bezhanishvili will also be playing for his immediate family. Older brother, Davit, arrived in Champaign for his first visit to the U.S., and he will see Giorgi play for the first time in about 18 months.

“It’s extra motivation,’’ Bezhanishvili said. “To have family here is always great. This is my new family, my new home. To have him here is great.’’

So, he will show off his favorite place to eat, Panda Express, and take his brother on a tour of the campus and perhaps some hot spots.

“I’m extra excited,’’ he said. “I have a really small family.’’

With his new family, turning this corner is no easy chore.