The 2025-26 basketball season is winding down rather quickly, and the women's Illinois basketball team has just a handful of games left to make a good impression before March.
The Illini are in the middle of yet another impressive season under head coach Shauna Green, as we have recorded a 17-8 record overall while going 7-7 in the Big Ten. They've had plenty of ups and downs this year, but their streak of losing four of their last six games has them in an awkward place at the moment.
This unit has a great young core, and we all know this. But they have struggled recently against their own conference, and they need to figure out a way to turn things around. Thankfully, Illinois has a very lowly Rutgers squad coming to town that has mustered only one Big Ten win all season. But what are some questions that we should be asking ourselves prior to their 6:00 p.m. CST tip-off?
Can Illinois' defense limit junior forward Nene Ndiaye?
The Scarlett Knights are more than ready for this season to end. They are entering this contest after winning just one of their last 13 games and are poised to be one of the three teams left out of the Big Ten Tournament. The only bright side to Rutgers' season, though, has easily been the play of junior forward Nene Ndiaye.
Nene, a junior transfer from Boston College, has been the unquestioned leader of coach Coquese Washington's program. In 22 games played this season, Nene leads the team in scoring with 15.2 points per game, while also recording 5.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists on 46% shooting from the field.
The Illini have faced a fair share of talented wings this season, with the likes of Shay Ciezki from Indiana and Jaloni Cambridge from Ohio State being the biggest examples. But with how bad the Scarlett Knights have been this season, I just feel like whatever Ndiaye can muster up in this game won't be enough to surpass a stout Illinois offense.
Have the Illini officially stopped this trend of starting games slow?
The Illini are coming into this game after downing the Wisconsin Badgers by a score of 82-60. It was a completely one-sided affair that saw Illinois shoot 11-of-17, 65%, from long range, including a perfect 6-of-6 from deep for sophomore guard Aaliyah Guyton.
It was definitely a change of pace for a team that's still trying to find its footing in Big Ten play. But before they bullied the Badgers, the Illini were struggling against the likes of USC and Oregon, especially when they were outscored in the first half of both games by a combined 82-47.
Illinois' first half woes did seem to fade away last Wednesday against the Badgers, especially after opening up the game with 24 points in the first quarter. But getting outscored by 35 in two games against quality opponents is not going to get the job done.
We should expect Green's bunch to go bonkers against Rutgers based on their matchup alone. But when it comes to the rest of the season, let's hope that Illinois can use these two games as the perfect jumping-off point to fix their first half woes.