Inside the Arc

Alec and Brandon are joined by Sleepers Media's Greg Waddell (@GWizzy12) to dive through the dog days of college basketball's offseason to discuss the rise of Sleeper's Media and how it became one of the most listened to podcasts in Big Ten country before talking about the budding rivalry between Illinois and Michigan with plenty of laughs and a sharing of feelings from each side of the rivalry. At the end of the interview, the three rank Illini basketball player's with the best vibes and do a quick three-round snake draft of Big Ten arenas. In the final segment of the show, Brandon pays his dues by eating ketchup because after the Cardinals swept the Yankees in St. Louis! Thanks for listening to Inside the Arc, make sure to watch for additional content on YouTube and to follow Alec (@alec_bussee) and Brandon (@BrandonSimberg).

In episode 68 of Inside the Arc, Alec Busse and Brandon Simberg look ahead to what the Big Ten is going to look like in the next five years by ranking all 16 programs into five different tiers. The top tier includes perennial conference title contenders and the bottom group is some familiar faces that have struggled for a while in the Big Ten. But where does everybody fall? ESPN's Fran Fraschilla sparked an intense conversation on Twitter about how college basketball would benefit from a 24-second shot clock. One of Alec and Brandon agrees and the other disagrees. Where do Alec and Brandon fall and what are the pros and cons of shortening the shot clock? All the answers are included. At the end of the show, a five-round snake draft of the five best restaurants in Champaign, which Champaign staples did Alec and Brandon nail and which restaurants did they miss out on? Share your opinions with ALec and Brandon on Twitter about their picks. Follow Alec @alec_busse and Brandon @BrandonSimberg

Alec Busse and Brandon Simberg are back for Ep. 67 of Inside the Arc. With the Illini's nonconference schedule finalized heading into the 2022-23 season, they each share their thoughts on the opponents and who they think is the most exciting matchups. How many wins do the Illini have banked on their nonconference schedule? Peach Jam is over, which means the conclusion of the AAU summer circuit. Alec provides some insight into who is the biggest competition for Amani Hanberry in the 2023 class. In the 2024 class, Brandon saw the St. Rita trio of James Brown, Morez Johnson and Nojus Indrusaitis. What's the ceiling for each player in college? Sim has the answer for you. Illinois is ending their offseason workout schedule in the coming weeks. What has Skyy Clark shown this summer to make Alec and Brandon confident that he's ready to be the starting point guard? Coleman Hawkins looks like the player the Illini need him to be next summer and Terrence Shannon Jr. has the work ethic of Ayo Dosunmu.

Alec and Brandon talk about the NBA Draft while analyzing why Auburn's Jabari Smith Jr. is atop Brandon's Draft Big Board and why Duke's Paolo Banchero and Purdue's Jaden Ivey are both higher than Gonzaga freshman Chet Holmgren. Later, they talk about various Big Ten prospects including Wisconsin's Johnny Davis, Iowa's Keegan Murray and Ohio State's E.J. Liddell before diving into what the best scenario is for former Illini and two-time All-American Kofi Cockburn, who is likely to go undrafted. In the final segment of the show, Alec gives Brandon a series of quick-hitting NBA Draft questions, including who will have the best and worst Draft Night suit.

Alec and Sim are back after a long break to discuss the major addition of Baylor transfer Matthew Mayer to the 2022-23 Illini roster. The two breakdown what Mayer's addition means for Illinois, how he fits the rotations and if the Illini could add another transfer this offseason. Finally, the two give an offseason update on their Big Ten power rankings and then make a bet in Buzzer Beater at the end of the show on a pair of ACC teams.

Alec and Brandon talk about the impact of 2024 prospect ZZ Clark committing to the Illini, and how much credit Tim Anderson deserves for landing both Clark brothers in addition to Ty Rodgers and Morez Johnson. Later in the show, the conversation shifts to the impending decision of Kofi Cockburn and what it would mean if he returns to Illinois for a senior season or what it would mean if he left Illinois for a professional career.

Alec and Sim react to the news of Skyy Clark committing to the Illini, which gives the Illini one of the best-recruiting classes in the entire country. Find out what the impact of Clark's decision to join the Illini means for the rest of the Illini offseason - and who else the Cardinals could target and how it all could change the roster outlook next season.

Alec flys solo on this edition of Inside the Arc, and welcomes on Kam Cox. Cox is the director of Illinois' NIL department and oversees just about all things related to NIL and Illinois sports. Alec is able to ask Cox several questions related to NIL, including the effects that he thinks it has had on recruiting and what potential future impact the NIL collectives could have on college sports.

Alec and Brandon talk about some of the big pictures issues that led to the demise of the 2022 Fighting Illini and what changes need to be made for Illinois to have a deeper run in the NCAA Tournament next season. They also define whether or not this season was a success for Illinois despite failing to make it to the Sweet 16, and how additions and subtractions in the transfer portal could dictate the style that Illinois plays with next season.

Alec and Brandon react to the NCAA Tournament field and preview what should be a really interesting matchup with Chattanooga in the Round of 64 for the No. 4 seeded Fighting Illini. Find out some of the other interesting matchups along with who could be making a run from the Big Ten in Ep. 60 of Inside the Arc.

Alec and Brandon talk about the Illini's 1-1 week with Ohio State and Michigan with a deep dive into some of the real positives from the two games and some things that are still raising concern for Illinois as the postseason quickly looms. Before the end of the show, Sim gives his Pac-12 update and of course the final segment of the show - buzzer beater.

Alec Busse and Brandon Simberg are joined by Mike DeCourcy, FOX Sports lead Bracketologist and regular studio guest for Big Ten Network along and columnist for the Sporting News to talk about all things Bracketology. Find out where DeCourcy has the Illini seeded, what their seeding ceiling is and what needs to happen to reach that ceiling. Before the interview with DeCourcy, Alec and Brandon briefly react to the All-Big Ten teams along with the other awards that were announced on Tuesday morning. At the end of the show, Alec and Brandon reveal their Big Ten Tournament bracket by picking all 14 games. Did either of them pick the Illini? Find out by waiting until the end of the show. You can follow Alec on Twitter at alec_busse. You can follow Brandon on Twitter at BrandonSimberg and Mike DeCourcy's Twitter handle is @tsnmike. Thanks for listening to Inside the Arc.

Alec and Brandon talk all about the Illini's Big Ten Championship winning victory over Iowa on Sunday night. They talk about what they remember and what they experienced when the court was stormed by Orange Krush along with a discussion into some of the x's and o's of the 74-72 victory. Later in the show, the two reveal their Big Ten awards ballots from top to bottom. At the end, Alec gives a pretty spicy Buzzer Beating take about the North Carolina win over Duke.

Alec and Sim breakdown the Illini's loss to Purdue, something that Sim was adamant would happen. What kind of major takeaways do the guys have from the disappointing loss and is RJ Melendez solidifying himself as an important role player? How many more games can the Illini lose in conference play to still be crowned Big Ten Champions? All of that before a short conversation about a big-time official visitor in Champaign for the Northwestern game on Super Bowl Sunday. At the end of the show in buzzer-beater, Sim talks about the least talked about star in college basketball and Alec gets sentimental about what the future could look like for a couple of college basketball's more historic programs.

Alec and Brandon recap the Illini's impressive road victory over Indiana at Assembly Hall to start the show before later getting into a preview of Illinois at Purdue game - a matchup that the two have a rare disagreement on. Find out who thinks Purdue is good enough to overcome their poor defensive play and who thinks the Boilermakers aren't doing enough to close out games. All of that before a loaded Pac-12 update following an all-time game between UCLA and Arizona and Buzzer Beater at the end to wrap things up.

Alec and Brandon are back to preview Illini's primetime matchup with No. 11 Wisconsin at State Farm Center on Wednesday night. Who needs to play the best for the Illin? Who guards player of the year candidate Johnny Davis? Who is the biggest wild card for the Illini and what can that player do for the Illini to come out on top against the Badgers? Answers to all of those questions on this episode of Inside the Arc and a "hot" take from Alec about this season's Duke team.

Alec and Brandon reveal their biggest takeaways from the Illini's 2-1 stretch with wins over Michigan State and Northwestern and loss to Maryland. They talk about what the impact of the freshman could be with a tough month of February coming on the horizon before introducing a new segment at the end of the show called "Buzzer Beater" where they share a couple of their takes on the national college basketball scene.

Alec and Brandon recap the Illini's loss to Purdue including the return of Andre Curbelo from injury and what it means for Illinois in the long term and how the backcourt situation is going to play out later in the season. At the end of the show, there is a conversation about who is the best team that the Illini have played this season - Arizona or Purdue?

Alec and Brandon are joined by the one and only Ant Wright to talk about the storylines and where they come from before the Illini vs. Michigan game on Friday night. Later in the show, the conversation shifts towards what has gone wrong for the 7-6 Wolverines this season and whether or not Wright thinks the problems can be fixed before it's too late. And at the end of the interview, the next college basketball superstar joins the show for a quick hello and goodbye.

Alec and Brandon do a brief recap of the Illini's wins vs. Minnesota and Maryland coming out of their 13-day pause, due to 10 positive COVID-19 tests within the team. After discussing the two wins, the conversation shifts to what has made Wisconsin's Johnny Davis so good this season and the rest of the Big Ten Player of the Year discussion. Finally, Alec and Brandon debate who the best team in the Big Ten is as of early January and what the conference picture could look like in a couple of weeks.

Alec and Brandon are joined by Marlee Wierda, formerly of WCIA in Champaign to relive some of her favorite memories of her time in Champaign covering Illinois football and men's basketball before she moves up the chain to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she will have the ability to cover an "amazing" former Illini. After the conversation with Marlee, Alec and Brandon have some fun tying New Year's traditions to college basketball programs across the country in a spinoff of something the Field of 68 Media Network did for Thanksgiving.

Two time Big Ten Champion Sean Harrington joins Alec and Brandon to remember the back-to-back B1G Championships.

Alec and Brandon discuss the Illini's 83-79 loss to No. 11 Arizona on Saturday night at State Farm Center. Later in the show, Alec and Sim are joined by Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated for further discussion of the game and some brief big picture things in college basketball.

Alec and Brandon recap the Illini's impressive road win at Iowa from Monday night before looking at the Big Ten from a big picture with a fun game or buy, sell or hold on several of the team's in the conference.

Alec and Brandon talk about all the health issues that are facing the Illini early in the season, the way the Illini have played in their last three games against Cincinnati, Kansas State and UTRGV, and then spend a short amount of time previewing Notre Dame and talk about the latest recruiting win.

Alec and Brandon talk about the Illini's disappointing 67-66 loss to Marquette.

On Ep. 43 of Inside the Arc, Alec and Brandon talk about Kofi Cockburn's three-game suspension for selling apparel on the Player's Trunk and recap what they saw in Illinois' two exhibitions games.

Alec and Brandon are joined by Robbie Hummel of the Field of 68 media network, ESPN and Big Ten Network. Not to mention, an all-time great at Purdue. The three breakdowns the top-half of the Big Ten including Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Maryland, Michigan, Purdue, Michigan State and Rutgers. They end the conversation with a fun talk about the All-Big Ten team at the start and end of the season. Before the interview, Alec and Brandon talk about Illinois' open practice and takeaways from Big Ten Basketball Media Days.

Alec Busse and Brandon Simberg are joined by James Boyd of the Herald and Review to talk about what they are most excited about heading into Illinois basketball's media day on Friday, Oct. 1. Topics of conversation include the starting five, who replaces Ayo Dosunmu's presence on the court and in the locker room plus what needs to happen for this to be a good season.

The Big Ten released their conference basketball schedule on Wednesday, so Brandon SImberg and Alec Busse break down the Illini's conference schedule from marquee matchups to trap games and everything in between. At the end of the show, they give their record prediction for the conference schedule.

Alec and Brandon talk about Ayo Dosunmu's Summer League Performance with the Bulls and then break down the nonconference schedule release.

Alec and Brandon recap the 2021 NBA Draft from an Illini perspective while giving their opinions on Ayo Dosunmu's landing spot with the Chicago Bulls and Giorgi Bezhanishvili's landing with the Denver Nuggets on a summer league contract.

Alec and Brandon give their instant reaction to the breaking news of Kofi Cockburn returning to Illinois for a junior season. The two break down what it means for the Illini, their Big Ten chances and how this impacts the national scene of college basketball along with a discussion into what expectations should be for the All-American.

Alec and Brandon break down all the angles of Kofi Cockurn's shocking decision to enter the transfer portal.

Alec and Brandon talk deep about Brandon's time at the NBA Combine and Richwoods High School for the live period. Sim gives deep breakdown into both Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn's NBA Draft prospects as well as other players from the Big Ten and the country before moving on to talk about some of the Illini's biggest targets in the Class of 2022 and 2023.

Alec and Brandon are joined by Neel Ganta in this edition of Inside the Arc to learn more about the analytical influence Ganta has had on Illini basketball in the last two years from defensive adjustments to lineups and different rotations.

Alec and Brandon react to the breaking news of Illinois' hiring of Chester Frazier to fill one of the voids left by Orlando Antigua and Chin Coleman both moving to assistant roles at Kentucky. Later in the show, Alec and Sim are joined by Orange and Blue News Illinois basketball insider Jeff Karzen to discuss the entirety of the Illini assistant coaching world and recruiting news as well.

Alec and Brandon are joined by former Illini Deon Thomas to dive into a conversation about the dynamics of college basketball with the transfer portal, NIL, the coaching carousel and the one-and-done rule/G-League option for highly recruited high school players.

Alec and Brandon are joined by Sports Illustrated NBA Draft analyst Jeremy Woo to discuss the draft prospects of Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn and other players from around the Big Ten. Before the interview, Alec and Brandon discuss the addition of Alfonso Plummer, and what that means for the Illini backcourt in 2021-22.

Alec and Brandon are joined by Ayo Dosunmu to discuss his Illini career, his NBA Draft preparation and give him an opportunity to say one final thing to Illini fans. After the interview, the guys break down what Brandin Podziemski's commitment to Illinois means for the future of the Illini program and what his addition to the Class of 2021 means.

Alec and Sim kick off season two of Inside the Arc with a conversation of Adam Miller's decision to enter the transfer portal.

In the final episode of the first season of Inside the Arc, Alec and Brandon break down what went wrong in the Illini's loss to Loyola-Chicago in the Round of 32, talk offseason storylines and rank the five best moments of the season. Stay tuned for the end when Brandon and Alec preview what season two of Inside the Arc entails.

Alec and Brandon are joined by Robert Rosenthal, the publisher of IlliniBoard, to better understand what Illinois locking up a one seed and winning the Big Ten Tournament Championship. Robert also gives his Mt. Rushmore of Illinois basketball players and talks about what his ideal situation for Illinois in the NCAA Tournament is.

Alec and Sim briefly recap Illinois' Big Ten Tournament Championship game win and preview the NCAA Tournament.

Alec and Brandon are joined by the Athletic's Brendan Quinn to discuss the Illinois and Michigan beef and the Big Ten Tournament in the 25th episode of Inside the Arc.

Alec and Brandon are joined by recurring guest Mike LaTulip to recap the Illini's memorable week, which included two road wins over No. 2 Michigan and No. 7 Ohio State. The three also look back on the Illini's season in a holistic view, talk Big Ten Tournament and have one final debate on Big Ten Player of the Year.

Alec and Brandon are happy to be joined by Joey Lane for the second time to preview the Illini's matchup with Ohio State on Saturday.

Alec and Brandon are joined by Illini Inquirer's lead basketball reporter Derek Piper to breakdown a hectic week in Illini hoops, talk recruiting targets, transfer portal targets and how much fun it has been to cover this Illinois basketball season.

Illinois basketball has won seven-straight games, so Alec and Brandon called up former Illini Trent Meacham to discover what he thinks the ceiling is for this Illinois team, breakdown the positives and negative moments during the win streak and he shares stories of Micahel Jordan watching his Illini teams play.

Alec and Brandon are joined by Isaac Trotter of the Post Bulletin to preview the Illinois at Minnesota game on Saturday. The three also make their case for their first-team All-Big Ten members, the Ayo Dosunmu vs. Luka Garza Player of the Year debate and potential Big Ten cinderella's come March Madness.

Alec and Brandon are joined by former Illini point guard Stephen Bardo to discuss his Illinois career, the Flyin' Illini and where this Illinois team stands right now after three straight Big Ten wins.