The women’s Illinois basketball team is sitting solid for the NCAA tournament right now.
Starting any season 11-1 is a great accomplishment. While the non-conference schedule featured a lot of fluff, the Illini are about to get a crash course in how high-level basketball is played.
I only say this because many of the players on the team right now haven’t experienced the top echelon of competition. Illinois has plenty of freshmen making an impact, and the coming weeks and months will be a huge learning moment.
With that being said, the NCAA tournament is definitely within reach. 11-1 has the Illini getting votes in the AP Top 25, and as of right now, we are No. 36 in the NET Rankings. As I mentioned, in the coming weeks and months, the Illini play a ton of Quad 1 games, so there is a chance for us to shoot up the NET Rankings.
Illinois’ solid start has the NCAA tournament predictions giving us an interesting couple of matchups, too. Charlie Creme of ESPN has the Illini sitting in the No. 8 spot right now. The first round would be against a tough No. 9 seed, Arizona State.
The Sun Devils are undefeated right now, sitting at 14-0. They, too, haven’t played a Quad 1 game yet, and their schedule is about to ramp up.
If Illinois were to manage to get past Arizona State, we would likely then play the No. 1 seed in that region. Which program would that be?
Texas.
Yes, the same Texas team that took Illinois out in the second round last year, also a No. 1 vs. No. 8 matchup. The Longhorns won that game by 17 points and held the Illini to just 48 points on the day.
Illinois basketball might be younger, but we are more equipped now to handle a team like Texas
You can just look at the roster and see that Illinois went from a ton of super seniors last season to a ton of underclassmen in 2025-26. That would naturally get people thinking that this team is worse.
I wouldn’t make that case. In fact, I would make the case that Illinois is more equipped now than that squad last season.
Illinois’ best player, Kendall Bostic, was amazing. But this rendition has better rebounders throughout the roster. We have multiple players with over seven rebounds per game, and five Illini are averaging over three rebounds per game. This squad is up nearly two rebounds per game over last year’s team.
I also believe the defense is better this season. Illinois has more athletes on the 2025-26 squad, and it has enabled us to only allow 55.3 points per game compared to 61.7 points per game last season.
I am happy with an NCAA tournament projection. I am not happy with where they have us projected. Illinois has a chance to skyrocket up the projections, and it all starts on Sunday.