It has been a wild ride thus far, as the women’s Illinois basketball program is eyeing back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances.
The 2025-26 campaign has been the exact definition of a roller coaster season. The Illini started 13-1, which included an 11-game winning streak and a win over No. 7 Maryland. Things went off the tracks after that, though.
Illinois proceeded to drop seven out of the next 10 games. This looks bad when you say it, but when you look at the schedule, you will realize it was a huge ask to even be .500 in that stretch of games.
With some below-average programs on the schedule, Illinois needed to get things going in the right direction again.
The Illini have now won two straight. We beat Wisconsin by 32 points, and on Tuesday night, Illinois took down Rutgers by 20 points. These were two games that were supposed to be wins, but styles make the fight, and Illinois looked great.
What I love most about Illinois getting back on track is the fact that the freshmen were the leaders who are guiding this program. Sure, Berry Wallace is doing her usual near-20 points per game thing, but without the talented freshmen, Illinois would be on the outside looking in when it comes to the NCAA tournament.
In the last two wins, Cearah Parchment has taken her game to another level. She has averaged 16.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 3.0 steals per game. Those are the numbers of a great center in the game, but with Parchment, you get more.
Parchment is also 4-of-9, 44.4%, from three-point range in the last two contests. She is such a weapon on the floor. The fact that she can rebound and is tough as nails in the paint, but then she can step out and shoot from distance, makes her so dangerous.
While Parchment is having a great season, she isn’t the only freshman who is stepping up. Over the past month or so, since Gretchen Dolan went down with an injury, Illinois has had to rely on other freshmen to pick up the slack.
Destiny Jackson is starting to come into her own. While she needs to work on physicality and decision-making in the paint, her quick and aggressive tone on the court makes her so valuable to the Orange and Blue.
Jackson has now averaged 10.8 points, 5.7 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game in the last 10 contests. She is a player whom I can’t wait to see what she turns into in the next year or two.
Illinois basketball is catching fire at the right time, as we head into the NCAA tournament
Illinois was starting to slip down the NCAA tournament rankings in the past month, but with back-to-back wins, the ship seems to be back on course.
Next up is at Northwestern on Saturday. This should be another victory. The final two games are on the road against No. 13 Iowa and at home against No. 23 Minnesota.
I have said it before, beat Northwestern and then split the final two, and I believe Illinois can climb into that No. 7 seed. That would help avoid the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and give me more hope we can advance to the second weekend.
With the way the Illini are playing right now, I think a strong finish to the 2025-26 season can happen. As long as we have the freshmen clicking, the sky is the limit for this program.