CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Following the Big Ten schedule announcement live on Big Ten Network Thursday, the 2025-26 Illinois women's basketball schedule is complete. The Fighting Illini revealed the fourth non-conference slate under head coach Shauna Green on Aug. 26.
SCHEDULE NOTES
Illinois is slated for an 18-game conference schedule with nine home games and nine on the road.
This season marks the seventh time in the last eight seasons that the league will play an 18-game women's basketball schedule, and the 24th time overall since 1982-83.
Twelve Big Ten squads, including Illinois, appeared in the 2024-25 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament: UCLA (Final Four), USC (Elite Eight), Maryland (Sweet 16), Michigan State (Second Round), Indiana (Second Round), Oregon (Second Round), Iowa (Second Round), Illinois (Second Round), Ohio State (Second Round), Michigan (Second Round), Nebraska (First Round), and Washington (First Four).
Illinois will play 11 league games against teams that appeared in the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Illini will face off against just one team twice during the regular season: Northwestern.
Illinois will host USC and UCLA this season while heading to the Pacific Northwest to visit Washington and Oregon in those four programs' second year in the Big Ten.
Weekend conference games inside State Farm Center include Indiana (Saturday, Dec. 6), Northwestern (Sunday, Jan. 18), USC (Sunday, Feb. 8), and Minnesota (Sunday, March 1).
The Illini will play eight weekday conference games, including five at home inside State Farm Center.
Big Ten games by day of the week breakdown:
Monday: 0
Tuesday: 1 (home)
Wednesday: 4 (3 home, 1 away)
Thursday: 3 (1 home, 2 away)
Friday: 0
Saturday: 2 (1 home, 1 away)
Sunday: 8 (3 home, 5 away)
The Illini open conference play at home for the first time since the 2023-24 season and just the second time in the last six seasons
Illinois will face Indiana in State Farm Center on Saturday, Dec. 6, to open Big Ten play.
The Illini will have faced the Hoosiers for the Big Ten opener twice in four seasons under Shauna Green and five times in program history (2025, 2022, 2018, 2022, and 1990).
Illinois' regular-season finale is Sunday, March 1, at home versus Minnesota.
The Big Ten Tournament is scheduled for March 4-8 in the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
ABOUT THE ILLINI
New season tickets for the 2025-26 Fighting Illini women's basketball campaign are on sale now. Illinois enters Year 4 under head coach Shauna Green and has compiled a 38-11 record at home over the last three seasons, including four upsets of AP top-25 ranked teams: No. 12 Iowa (1/1/23), No. 14 Indiana (2/19/24), No. 19 Florida State (11/7/24), and No. 23 Iowa (1/9/25).
In three seasons under Green, the Illinois women's basketball team has registered 63 wins, the first-ever postseason championship in program history (2024 WBIT), and three consecutive top-5 season attendances in State Farm Center. Additionally, the Illini have racked up six AP Top 25-ranked wins, secured double-digit home victories for three straight seasons for the first time in program history, won Illinois' first NCAA Tournament game in 25 seasons, and brought in the No. 7-ranked recruiting class by espnW coming in for the 2025-26 campaign.
