
The Drive is your daily Illini sports podcast from ESPN 93.5. Kurtis Allen and Evan Stone cover Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball, Illinois Fighting Illini football, the Chicago Bears, Cardinals, Cubs and the biggest sports stories in Champaign-Urbana with interviews, analysis, and a lot of laughs. New episodes every weekday. 🎙️
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Episodes

Dec 11, 2024
Dec 11, 2024
53 min
Lon and Derek break down the Illini's 86-80 victory over Wisconsin including Tre White's breakout night, Kaspras Jakucionis's continued stardom, and the way the Illini's starting backcourt is coming together.

Dec 10, 2024
Dec 10, 2024
56 min
Derek and Kyle discuss how much Ty Rodgers could've helped this Illini team if he hadn't decided to redshirt. Later, the guys talk about Kylan Boswell's importance in slowing down Wisconsin and give their predictions for the game.

Dec 10, 2024
Dec 10, 2024
54 min
Lon and Derek talk some Illinois hoops as Lon gives his take on the Illinois loss to Northwestern. The guys also discuss how tough the game against Wisconsin could be for Illinois and how much more Brad Underwood needs to rely on his bench.

Dec 9, 2024
Dec 9, 2024
54 min
Derek and Kyle break down the Illini's overtime loss to Northwestern and what went wrong down the stretch. The guys share their thoughts on some late game lineup and coaching decisions and also start to look ahead to the Illini's matchup with Wisconsin.

Dec 9, 2024
Dec 9, 2024
54 min
J Leman joins the show for his weekly football hour to discuss Illinois' selection to the Citrus Bowl against South Carolina. J and Derek discuss the matchup against the Gamecocks, react to the College Football Playoff bracket, and share their thoughts on some recent coaching news.

Dec 6, 2024
Dec 6, 2024
57 min
Lon and Kyle break down their keys to the game for Illinois against Northwestern and how they could go about slowing down Northwestern's duo of scorers. Later, the guys do some Who Ya Got? (without Hans Dee) and give their picks for the weekend's college football conference championship games.

Dec 6, 2024
Dec 6, 2024
54 min
Derek Piper joins Lon and Kyle live on his way to Evanston to break down the Illini's Big Ten opener against Northwestern. Later, Maroa-Forsyth TE and Illinois commit Grant Smith joins the show to discuss his signing with the Illini. Lon and Kyle share some thoughts on the Illini's signing day class as a whole.

Dec 5, 2024
Dec 5, 2024
57 min
Derek and Kyle share their thoughts on a wild night of college basketball including how scary Duke can become and North Carolina's struggles. Later, hear from Bret Bielema as he breaks down his 2025 National Signing Day class. The guys also discuss Pat Bryant electing to not play in the Illini's bowl game.

Dec 5, 2024
Dec 5, 2024
54 min
Derek and Kyle discuss Illinois likely getting a chance to host #1 Tennessee next weekend and how important that opportunity will be for the Illini's resume. The guys also preview the Illini's upcoming matchup with Northwestern and some things they'll be watching in the team's first road game.

Dec 4, 2024
Dec 4, 2024
55 min
Derek and Kyle make their picks for who they would put their money on to win the Big Ten in basketball and run through some of the top candidates. Later, Derek shares his thoughts on a few Bears head coaching candidates.

Dec 4, 2024
Dec 4, 2024
54 min
Derek and Kyle share their thoughts on Illini football's National Signing Day class and the recruiting trajectory Bret Bielema and the Illini staff are on. The guys also react to two exciting Big Ten games to kick off conference play.

Dec 3, 2024
Dec 3, 2024
50 min
Lon and Derek share their thoughts on the latest NBA Draft projections, which include one Illini rising all the way into the top 5 and a trio of Illini players in total. Later, the guys discuss the Illini volleyball team's NCAA Tournament berth and the first night of conference play in Big Ten hoops.

Dec 3, 2024
Dec 3, 2024
53 min
Lon and Derek discuss the release of the All-Big Ten football teams and react to Pat Bryant being left off the All-Big Ten first team. Later, Chicago Sun Times high school sports editor Michael O'Brien joins the show to share his insight into the IHSA's public vs. private school debate and state championship game imbalance.

Dec 2, 2024
Dec 2, 2024
49 min
Lon and Derek break down the Illini's 90-77 Thanksgiving win over Arkansas and what made the Illini's performance so impressive. The guys also discuss how they would try guarding the Illinois offense and some gripes about the latest AP Poll.

Dec 2, 2024
Dec 2, 2024
1hr 36 sec
J Leman joins Lon and Derek for his weekly football hour to break down the Illini's 38-28 rivalry victory over Northwestern and reaching 9 wins for the first time since 2007. The guys also discuss Bret Bielema's tweets lobbying for the Illini's playoff resume and some of the college football playoff rankings arguments heading into conference championship weekend.

Nov 26, 2024
Nov 26, 2024
55 min
Derek discusses UCONN's losses at Maui and Dan Hurley's craving for the villain role. Later, hear from Brad Underwood after Monday's game. Also, a texter asks if you'd rather have Bruce Weber or John Groce.

Nov 26, 2024
Nov 26, 2024
54 min
Lon and Derek discuss Illinois' blowout win over Little Rock on Monday night. Would you say this team is better defensively than last year or is it too early?

Nov 25, 2024
Nov 25, 2024
53 min
Lon and Derek give their take on Ed Cooley's shot at Illinois in Saturday's postgame. Later, they take a look at tonight's matchup against Little Rock.

Nov 25, 2024
Nov 25, 2024
59 min
J Leman joins the guys to break down Illinois' thrilling win at Rutgers on Saturday. Later, they discuss the Illini's bowl outlook and whether Indiana should still make the CFP.

Nov 22, 2024
Nov 22, 2024
58 min
Derek and Kyle discuss whether Illinois needs one its freshmen to emerge as a true star by the end of the year to ultimately have success. Later, the guys preview the Illinois-Rutgers matchup and share some picks for the weekend sports action.
