Illinois Women’s Basketball Ranked to Open the Season – Are They Deserving?

After a strong finish to last season, the Illinois women’s basketball team is ranked in both the preseason AP and coaches polls. Illinois was ranked No. 23 by AP voters and No. 22 by the coaches after a 22-12 (9-9 Big Ten) season that included an NCAA Tournament win.

The program is returning key starters and promising reserves in 2026-27, but the top 25 is an unusual spot for Illinois to find itself. The Illini entered the 2023-24 season also ranked No. 23 (after climbing as high as No. 21 a season prior), but they hadn’t previously occupied a space in the AP poll since 2000-01. Are they truly a top 25 team now? Let’s take a closer look.

Illinois women’s basketball deserves to be ranked

No ifs, and or buts about it, the Illini deserve to be ranked. Illinois started last year 13-1 before playing around .550 ball after the New Year. A strong start earned the Illini a spot in the NCAA Tournament, and a win over Colorado in the first round showed they belonged before a loss to Vanderbilt in the second round.

Expectations are even higher this season. And the main reason why is because Illinois returns all five of its starters from 2025-26.

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That’s rare in today’s world of college basketball and a major advantage for the Illini. Team chemistry and continuity is essential for any program, and Illinois has them.

Illinois also brings back its top bench player from last season in Aaliyah Guyton. Rarely is a team’s top bench player a major key to a team’s success, but Guyton is the type of player who could very well make the difference between Illinois finishing seventh or fifth in the Big Ten, and maybe even the difference in the Illini qualifying for NCAA Tournament compared to making the Sweet 16.

Aaliyah Guyton could be Illinois’ X-Factor

Illinois’ starting five can’t play every minute of every game. Whether it’s because of foul trouble or injuries, the Illini are going to need their bench players to step up. And no other reserve on the Illini roster can do what Guyton…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/illinois-womens-basketball-ranked-open-162006993.html

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Publish date : 2026-10-24 16:20:00

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