Illini Inquirer Podcast: An Illinois Fighting Illini athletics podcast

Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner, Derek Piper and Joey Wagner react to Illinois basketball's NCAA Tournament seeding and draw. The guys discuss the Illini's reaction to Selection Sunday and the anxiety around the program entering March Madness before breaking down the draw of No. 13 seed Chattanooga and potentially Houston and Kevlin Sampson in the second round. The guys then discuss why there shou...

Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner, Joey Wagner and Derek Piper discuss Illinois basketball's 65-63 loss to Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal. The guys discuss a good game from the frontcourt but poor shooting performances from the guards and then discuss lingering concerns about the team entering the NCAA Tournament,

Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner and Joey Wagner discuss Illinois basketball's trip to the 2022 Big Ten Tournament. The guys discuss what the conference tournament means for the defending Big Ten Tournament champions and 2022 regular-season champions and break down Friday's quarterfinal against Indiana. The guys then look at the rest of the bracket, including red-hot Iowa and a potentially favorabl...

Illini Inquirer basketball analyst Mike LaTulip chats with Jeremy Werner about Illinois clinching a share of its first Big Ten regular-season championship with a 74-72 win over No. 24 Iowa, Coleman Hawkins and Andre Curbelo stepping up and the Big Ten Tournament. Then Visit Champaign County's Mike Koon previews the IHSA boys basketball state finals' long-awaited return to State Farm Center. Also,...

Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner, Derek Piper and Joey Wagner discuss Illinois basketball claiming a share of the Big Ten championship for the first time in 17 years with a 74-72 win over Iowa. The guys discuss the crazy day that was, including Nebraska's shocking win at Wisconsin and coming back from a 15-point deficit, and what it means for the program to win a regular-season championship. The gu...

Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner and Derek Piper react to Illinois basketball's uninspiring 60-55 win over Penn State. The guys discuss why the win was important but some lingering concerns from the game, including Penn State's effective defensive game plan against Kofi Cockburn, Alfonso Plummer and Trent Frazier as well as the team's lack of energy to start. The guys then look ahead to Sunday's re...

Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner chats with 247Sports' Isaac Trotter about Wisconsin clinching a share of the Big Ten title, what Illinois is playing for during the final week and why missing out on a Big Ten title again would sting for a program that has re-emerged the last three seasons. The guys then break down where the Big Ten teams sit in the latest NCAA Tournament bracket projections.

Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner chats with former Illinois basketball player Mike LaTulip about Illinois basketball's 93-85 win at Michigan, including big games from Kofi Cockburn, Trent Frazier and Alfonso Plummer. LaTulip also weighs in on the re-emergences of Coleman Hawkins and Andre Curbelo and what they mean for the Illini entering March. The guys then look ahead to the final, all-important...

Live from Ann Arbor, Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner and Derek Piper discuss a 93-85 win at Michigan. The guys discuss big games from Kofi Cockburn (27 points), Alfonso Plummer (26 points) and Trent Frazier (17 points) and big bench boosts from Andre Curbelo (12 points) and Coleman Hawkins. Then the guys preview the Illini's final-week push for a Big Ten regular-season championship, which will nee...

Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner and Derek Piper discuss Illinois basketball's 86-83 loss to Ohio State. The guys discuss the Illini's struggles to stop Malaki Branham, E.J. Liddell and Kyle Young, what led to Ohio State's 28-5 run midway through the game and Kofi Cockburn's struggles. Then the guys discuss some bright spots, including a late run to cut the deficit to one possession late, Coleman H...

Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner chats with Bally Sports' bracket expert Brad Evans about Big Ten and Illini basketball bracket projections. Evans discusses Illinois basketball's range of potential seeding outcomes, what he thinks of the Illini this season and potential tough March Madness matchups. The guys then discuss the rest of the Big Ten, including Michigan State, Iowa, Rutgers, Michigan and...

Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner chats with former Illinois basketball player Mike LaTulip about the aftermath of Juwan Howard's tussle with Wisconsin and Illinois basketball's 79-74 win at Michigan State. LaTulip breaks down big performances from Jacob Grandison, Trent Frazier and Kofi Cockburn, Cockburn's case for B1G Player of the Year, Underwood's rotation and Thursday's game against Ohio State...

Illini Inquirer's Derek Piper and Jeremy Werner react to Illinois basketball's 79-74 win at No. 19 Michigan State. The guys discuss huge performances from Kofi Cockburn, Jacob Grandison and Trent Frazier, a dominant defensive first half and a resolute ending, including Frazier's dagger. The guys then look ahead to the final two weeks of the regular season and the Illini's chances at a Big Ten titl...

Illini Inquirer basketball analyst Mike LaTulip joins Jeremy Werner to break down what went wrong in Illinois basketball's 70-59 loss. LaTulip discusses what it's like to go through a shooting slump and how to get out of it, and he discusses whether Illinois coach Brad Underwood should make lineup changes.

Joey Wagner and Derek Piper break down Illinois' disappointing blowout loss to Rutgers at the RAC and what it means for a team chasing down a Big Ten championship. Illinois hasn't looked right for more than a week and the two talk about some of the issues plaguing the team with five games left in the regular season.

Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner chats with Isaac Trotter about Illinois basketball and the Big Ten title race with three weeks remaining in the regular season. The guys discuss the craziest parts of a crazy week in the Big Ten and their takeaways from Illinois splitting games against Purdue and Northwestern. The guys then preview the Illini's road trips to Rutgers and Michigan State before diving...

Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner and Derek Piper react to Illinois basketball's 73-66 win over Northwestern. The guys discuss the differences between a beautiful first half followed by second-half struggles, R.J. Melendez's continued breakout, some veteran struggles, how Andre Curbelo can settle in and Wednesday's game at Rutgers. The guys then discuss Class of 2023 five-star guard Kylan Boswell's...

Illini Inquirer basketball analyst Mike LaTulip breaks down the Illini loss to Purdue, Andre Curbelo's finding his rhythm, why he's so high on RJ Melendez and the NBA Trade Deadline.

Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner, Derek Piper and Joey Wagner react to No. 13 Illinois basketball's 84-68 loss at No. 3 Purdue. The guys discuss Jaden Ivey's monster performance in the second half and what went so wrong for the Illini after halftime. The guys then discuss whether Illinois can elevate to compete with the elite teams in the country and some bright spots from Andre Curbelo and RJ Mele...

Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner catches up with 247Sports' Isaac Trotter to discuss Lovie Smith likely getting another NFL head coaching job, Alex Palczewski's return to Illinois for a sixth season and the red-hot Illinois basketball team. Trotter and Werner then break down the Big Ten landscape heading into the home stretch of conference play. The guys also discuss the races for Big Ten Coach of...

Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner, Derek Piper and Joey Wagner discuss Illinois basketball's 74-57 road rout of Indiana. The guys discuss what was behind the Illini's monster second half, Trent Frazier's big performance, Kofi Cockburn's second-half rebound and signs of a dominant defense. The guys look back at a season-changing two weeks, which include three Quad 1 wins, and look ahead to the Big Te...

Former Illinois basketball player Mike LaTulip joins Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner to break down the Illini's 80-67 win over No. 11 Wisconsin. The guys discuss Kofi Cockburn's legendary night, how the Illini slowed down Johnny Davis and Brad Davison, Andre Curbelo's return and two massive road games ahead.

Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner, Joey Wagner and Derek Piper break down Illinois basketball's 80-67 win over No. 11 Wisconsin. The guys discuss Kofi Cockburn's huge night, which made his case for Big Ten Player of the Year, and then the guys discuss how Illinois slowed down the Badgers' National Player of the Year candidate, Johnny Davis, and Brad Davison. The guys also discuss Jacob Grandison bre...

Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner and Joey Wagner discuss Illinois football's Class of 2022 and what it says about Bret Bielema's plan. The guys discuss going prep-prospect heavy and how that could impact the 2022 season, how the Illini still could approach the transfer market and the keys to recruiting into the summer and the Class of 2023.

Illini Inquirer's Jeremy Werner chats a ton of Illinois hoops with two great guests. First, BTN's Trent Meacham chats about his transition to a broadcasting career and then breaks down Illinois basketball's great start to Big Ten play and keys to staying atop the conference. Then Badger247's Michael Hogan joins the podcast to preview Wednesday's matchup vs. No. 11 Wisconsin and discuss why the Bad...