What Shauna Green has done for the women’s Illinois basketball program is nothing short of a miracle.
As of right now, the Illini are one win shy in the Green era of matching the wins total from the prior eight seasons before she got to Champaign. Not to mention, in 3.5 seasons, Green already has 11.6% of all women’s Illinois basketball victories in the 45 years they have been around.
Green is a great coach, and she has done a phenomenal job at Illinois. The current squad is 11-1 this season and 1-0 in the Big Ten. But let’s be honest, we haven’t played anyone of note.
The only game where I am like, yeah, that is a solid win, is against Indiana. Teri Moren always has the Hoosiers ready to go, and we pummeled them by 21 points.
And let’s note, the one loss was against Oregon State, a 7-5 program that might be decent, as they have played a tough non-conference schedule.
As of right now, Illinois is No. 34 in the NET Rankings, which would get us into the NCAA tournament. I believe Charlie Creme of ESPN has Illinois as the No. 9 seed right now. That is about right for the schedule we have played.
The NET Rankings on the NCAA website are wrong. They only have Illinois playing one Quad 1 or 2 program. According to them, we are 0-0 against Quad 1 and 1-0 against Quad 2, with that win being at home against Indiana.
That isn’t correct, though. Illinois also beat Missouri on the road. That is a Quad 2 game. The loss to Oregon State was also on the road, and that would be a Quad 2 game, too. So, Illinois is actually 2-1 in Quad 2 contests.
With that being said, the Illini haven’t played a Quad 1 game, and we are 2-1 in Quad 2 games. The challenges haven’t been there, and the 11-1 record is propped up by a cupcake schedule thus far. That is all about to change, though.
The Illinois basketball freshmen are about to get a crash course in the Big Ten
I believe in this Illini squad. I think there is plenty of talent to compete and emerge from a strong Big Ten as an NCAA tournament team, but it won’t be easy.
Illinois’ next game is on the road against Purdue. This is a very winnable game, and it would be the first Quad 1 game for the Illini this season.
After the game against the 7-4 Boilermakers, things get wild. Illinois then has eight out of the next 11 games, all in the Big Ten, against ranked opponents. In that mix are No. 7 Maryland, at No. 24 Michigan State, No. 21 Ohio State, at No. 6 Michigan, at No. 23 Nebraska, No. 4 UCLA, at No. 22 Washington, and No. 19 USC.
That is arguably the hardest 11-game stretch that I have ever seen on either the men’s or women’s side of the game. This is an insane schedule, and at the end of the day, maybe the cupcake non-conference is good to help pad some numbers.
Illinois has to be ready for this stretch, though. This is going to be a reality check for many of the younger players who may think they have this game down. What we have played so far is nothing compared to the next month and a half. This is going to be a wild ride, and let’s hope we come out of it without too many bumps and bruises.