After four years in Champaign, Shauna Green has already done the hard part: she has dragged Illinois women’s basketball out of the middle and into the conversation.
The Illini have reached the NCAA Tournament in three of Green’s four seasons, and they’ve won a tournament game in each of the last two years - something the program hadn’t done since the turn of the century. Now they bring back all five starters from the 2025-26 team, which is why the ceiling feels higher than it has in a long time.
Still, the Big Ten doesn’t hand out anything easy. Illinois has the kind of roster that can absolutely steal a game from UCLA, Iowa, Michigan or USC, but over the grind of a full season those programs still look a step ahead in the league race. A top-five finish in the conference, though, is a real possibility, and that would be a meaningful jump for a program that has finished fifth or better in the Big Ten only once in the last 13 seasons.
A conference title? That’s a tougher sell.
Illinois could ride a hot week and some good fortune into the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, but the Bruins and Trojans are in a different class, and the path to a championship looks blocked unless those two end up meeting before the final. Even with the tournament still months away, Illinois does not appear to be a true title threat right now.
The NCAA Tournament picture feels more attainable. If the Illini are at least a No. 7 seed, they should be in position to win a couple of games once the bracket opens up.
Continuity is a huge part of that case: Illinois returns its starting five, has one of the rarest things in college basketball today in that kind of stability, and features an elite stretch forward in Berry Wallace. The free-throw line helps too - Illinois was the second-best team in the country there last season, which matters when tournament games tighten up.
The WNBA Draft conversation, meanwhile, probably won’t include Illinois just yet. The program hasn’t had a player selected since Jenna Smith went in the second round in 2010, and that streak doesn’t look likely to end this time around.
It’s not because the roster lacks talent so much as because the best pieces aren’t seniors. Maddie Webber and Jasmine Brown-Hagger are the only players entering their final year of eligibility, and neither is projected to be drafted.
If there is a name to watch for the future, it’s Aaliyah Guyton. She transferred in from Iowa and gave Illinois flashes of something bigger last season. She looks like a player who can take another step in 2026-27 and become exactly what every team needs: an elite bench scorer who can change the temperature of a game.
Guyton has already shown she can get hot in a hurry, and when Illinois stalls offensively, she’s the kind of weapon that can jump-start everything around Berry. The question now is whether she can create more consistently off the dribble. If that part of her game comes along, Illinois’ best season under Green could be right there in front of it.
In Other News...
Illinois Just Showed Why This Offense Might Finally Change
Saturday in Champaign offered a glimpse of what Illinois can look like when it plays to its personnel instead of forcing something else. The Illini beat Oregon 21-10 for their first win over the Ducks in 56 years, and the formula was familiar in the best possible way: a sturdier defense, a commitment to the run, and enough balance to keep the game on Illinois terms. Aidan Laughery helped carry the load, freshman Javari Barnett added meaningful production, and the offense looked far more comfortable leaning into what was working.
The more intriguing part may have been the way sophomore quarterback Carson Boyd was used. Illinois did not treat him as a one-dimensional option, mixing him in as both a runner and a passer in a way that hints at something broader for the offense moving forward. Whether that becomes a true two-quarterback setup or just another wrinkle, it is the kind of flexibility that could matter as the season goes on, especially if the Illini want this win to be more than a one-game outlier. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois Is Counting On Zvonimir Ivisic In One Crucial Area
At 7-foot-2 with a 7-7 wingspan, Zvonimir Ivisic already gives Illinois something it cannot manufacture elsewhere: size that can alter shots and change how opponents attack the paint. The scouting report around him points to a player whose best value often comes on the defensive end, where his reach and timing can make him a real deterrent, while his offensive game has been more about flashes than consistency as he has moved through Kentucky, Arkansas and now Illinois.
For the Illini, the important part is not just that Ivisic can block shots or finish around the rim, but that he settles into a dependable role as a reserve in the 2026-27 season. Illinois is counting on him to provide steady interior defense and enough offense to keep second-unit lineups functional, which makes his development in one crucial area a meaningful subplot for a team that will need reliable minutes off the bench. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois Just Turned Oregons Season Into Something Much Bigger
The 21-10 loss to Illinois left Oregon at 4-3 overall and 2-2 in conference play, and it also forced an immediate change on the Ducks staff. What looked like a midseason stumble quickly became something more consequential, with the offensive issues from that afternoon drawing a response that went beyond the scoreboard.
Drew Mehringer is no longer Oregons offensive coordinator, a move that underscores how sharply the Ducks season has shifted after the trip to Champaign. For Illinois, the win carries the kind of weight that extends beyond one result, because it helped push a Big Ten opponent into a deeper examination of everything from scheme to position-group performance. [Read more 🡒]