The women’s Illinois basketball program went from a good story to now a serious contender for the top of the game.
12 wins over a two-season span led to the Illini moving in a different direction and hiring Shauna Green. Since that move, Illinois has only won games. Three straight seasons of at least 19 wins and two out of the last three seasons with NCAA tournament appearances have the Illini looking good moving into the future.
You are going to see a new team in 2025-26, though. Green lost a ton of experience, and now she is going to have to rely on the players she brought into the program and developed. While that sounds like a scary thought, it is one that should give Illinois fans more optimism than skepticism.
The 2025-26 non-conference schedule should give the Illini fanbase optimism as well. The full non-conference slate was released on Tuesday, and honestly, it looks like Illinois could do some serious damage outside of the Big Ten.
Our non-con schedule is set!
— Illinois Women's Basketball (@IlliniWBB) August 26, 2025
Don't miss a game in State Farm Center - get those 🎟️https://t.co/dpRkDz7tHm pic.twitter.com/0WZ61eclqa
Illinois is going to need to ease into the new roster, so starting the season off with Southeast Missouri State isn’t a bad decision. They finished No. 330 in the NET Rankings last season, while Illinois came in at No. 29 in the country.
Out of the 10-game non-conference schedule, Illinois only plays two Quad 1 games. The first is on the road against Florida State, which finished No. 23 in the NET Rankings. Two games later, the Illini take on Missouri on the road. They finished No. 69 in the NET Rankings, which is just inside the Quad 1 parameters.
When you break down the Illini non-conference by how teams finished last season in the NET Rankings, Illinois will play two Quad 1 games, two Quad 2 games, two Quad 3 games, and four Quad 4 games. That is a schedule that favors the Illini greatly.
This is a proof of concept season for Shauna Green and the Illinois basketball program
I believe Illinois is going to have a good team in 2025-26. Green has been able to land a level of recruit consistently that the women’s program has never seen before.
With that being said, this is Green’s first season with the players she recruited having a major role on the team. The past three seasons have been filled with either players who were on the roster, like Kendall Bostic, or transfer portal players from all over the map.
Green is going to pass with flying colors, but how quickly can this relatively new Illini squad get up to speed? That will be the big question early on.