While the men’s team has been the topic lately, don’t forget the women’s Illinois basketball team starts their season soon, too.
Shauna Green is going to lead the Illini into the fray on November 4 against Detroit Mercy. This is arguably the biggest season in program history, as expectations are through the roof.
As we await the start of the 2026-27 campaign, preseason polls are starting to trickle in. On Tuesday, ESPN released their women’s basketball preseason top 25. Illinois landed at No. 20 on the list.
This is huge for the program. The expectations are high, but seeing it on paper makes it even more exciting.
It is nice to be in the ESPN preseason top 25, but the big daddy of them all is the AP Top 25. That should be dropped in the next couple of weeks. With the ESPN poll release, it does give me hope that Illinois could see an achievement this season that has rarely been seen in program history.
The Illini starting the season ranked in the AP Top 25.
I know it doesn’t sound like much, but this would be extremely rare for the Orange and Blue. It would be the second time in the last four seasons that Illinois started a run ranked in the AP Top 25, but in the 45-year history of the women’s program, it has only happened four times.
Since the turn of the century, Illinois has started in the AP Top 25 only once, and that was the 2023-24 season. Green now looks to make it in for a second time.
Illinois basketball has the talent to start and remain in the AP Top 25 throughout the 2026-27 season
It would be an awesome achievement to see Illinois start out in the AP Top 25 once again. While it is rare, Green has elevated the program to the point where I expect us to be ranked.
Illinois has at least cracked the AP Top 25 in each of the last four seasons. We have made the NCAA tournament in three of the last four seasons, which includes two trips to the second round.
This program has a ton of talent returning, too. Every player who started a game last season for the Illini is back for another year.
Illinois is healthy to start the season. Gretchen Dolan is back. She only played 18 games last season. Her presence gives the Illini more depth, which makes us even more dangerous.
Let’s not forget that Illinois landed five-star transfer portal guard Divine Bourrage. After just one season with LSU, she enters the picture and will be a dangerous weapon for the Illini.
I would be shocked if Illinois doesn’t start the season in the AP Top 25. This team brought back every player who had a start and added quality talent. Green has them locked and loaded and ready to make the second weekend of the NCAA tournament.
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