2020–21_Illinois_Fighting_Illini_women's_basketball_team
2020–21 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team
Intercollegiate basketball season
The 2020–21 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team represented the University of Illinois during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Fighting Illini, led by fourth-year head coach Nancy Fahey, played their home games at State Farm Center as members of the Big Ten Conference. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, they played fewer non-conference games than in previous seasons; three games were originally postponed and later canceled due to the pandemic. They finished the season 5–18, 2–16 in Big Ten play to finish in thirteenth place. They lost in the second round of the Big Ten women's tournament to Northwestern. Their first round win against Wisconsin was the first Big Ten tournament victory in coach Fahey's tenure at Illinois.[1]
Quick Facts Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball, Conference ...
| 2020–21 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball | |
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| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Record | 5–18 (2–16 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| Assistant coaches |
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| Home arena | State Farm Center |
Seasons | |
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More information Conf, Overall ...
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7 Maryland † | 17 | – | 1 | .944 | 26 | – | 2 | .929 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 12 Indiana | 16 | – | 2 | .889 | 20 | – | 5 | .800 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 Rutgers | 10 | – | 3 | .769 | 14 | – | 5 | .737 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 16 Michigan | 9 | – | 4 | .692 | 16 | – | 6 | .727 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 16 | – | 9 | .640 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 11 | – | 8 | .579 | 20 | – | 9 | .690 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 22 Ohio State | 9 | – | 7 | .563 | 13 | – | 7 | .650 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 8 | – | 7 | .533 | 15 | – | 9 | .625 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 9 | – | 10 | .474 | 13 | – | 13 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 8 | – | 13 | .381 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | 6 | – | 13 | .316 | 9 | – | 15 | .375 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 7 | – | 16 | .304 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 2 | – | 16 | .111 | 5 | – | 18 | .217 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 2 | – | 18 | .100 | 5 | – | 19 | .208 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2021 Big Ten tournament winner As of March 27, 2021 Rankings from AP poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Illini finished the 2019–20 season 11–19, 2–16 in Big Ten play to finish in 13th (of 14) place. They lost in the first round of the Big Ten women's tournament to Wisconsin.
More information Players, Coaches ...
| 2020–21 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, games were played without an audience, or with very limited attendance.[2]
More information Date time, TV, Rank# ...
| Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state | ||||||
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| Non-conference regular season | |||||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 7:00 p.m., BTN+ |
Indiana State | W 68–49 | 1–0 |
State Farm Center (103) Champaign, IL | |||||||
| December 2, 2020* 5:00 p.m., BTN+ |
Valparaiso | L 59–62 | 1–1 |
State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL | |||||||
| December 6, 2020* 2:00 p.m., BTN+ |
Omaha | W 53–50 | 2–1 |
State Farm Center (106) Champaign, IL | |||||||
| December 22, 2020* 2:00 p.m., BTN+ |
Southern Illinois | Canceled due to COVID-19 within the Southern Illinois program[3] | State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL | ||||||||
| Big Ten conference season | |||||||||||
| December 10, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN |
at Nebraska | L 72–78 | 2–2 (0–1) |
Pinnacle Bank Arena (0) Lincoln, NE | |||||||
| December 19, 2020 11:00 a.m., BTN |
No. 19 Michigan | Canceled due to COVID-19 within the Michigan program[4] | State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL | ||||||||
| December 31, 2020 11:00 p.m., BTN+ |
at No. 20 Indiana | L 56–79 | 2–3 (0–2) |
Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (0) Bloomington, IN | |||||||
| January 3, 2021 1:00 p.m., BTN+ |
Iowa | L 68–107 | 2–4 (0–3) |
State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL | |||||||
| January 7, 2021 6:00 p.m., BTN |
No. 16 Ohio State | L 55–78 | 2–5 (0–4) |
State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL | |||||||
| January 10, 2021 12:00 p.m., BTN+ |
at No. 15 Michigan | L 50–70 | 2–6 (0–5) |
Crisler Center (50) Ann Arbor, MI | |||||||
| January 14, 2021 6:00 p.m., BTN+ |
Michigan State | Canceled due to COVID-19 within the Michigan State program[5] | State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL | ||||||||
| January 21, 2021 6:00 p.m., BTN+ |
at No. 21 Northwestern | L 54–73 | 2–7 (0–6) |
Welsh–Ryan Arena (0) Evanston, IL | |||||||
| January 25, 2021 7:00 p.m., BTN |
Nebraska | L 53–57 | 2–8 (0–7) |
State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL | |||||||
| January 28, 2021 6:00 p.m., BTN+ |
Penn State | L 76–80 | 2–9 (0–8) |
State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL | |||||||
| January 31, 2021 2:00 p.m., BTN+ |
at Wisconsin | L 57–69 | 2–10 (0–9) |
Kohl Center (0) Madison, WI | |||||||
| February 4, 2021 7:00 p.m., BTN |
at Michigan State | L 60–81 | 2–11 (0–10) |
Breslin Center (0) East Lansing, MI | |||||||
| February 7, 2021 2:00 p.m., BTN+ |
Purdue | W 54–49 | 3–11 (1–10) |
State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL | |||||||
| February 10, 2021 6:00 p.m., BTN+ |
at Minnesota | L 73–83 | 3–12 (1–11) |
Williams Arena (0) Minneapolis, MN | |||||||
| February 14, 2021 2:00 p.m., BTN+ |
No. 15 Indiana | L 50–58 | 3–13 (1–12) |
State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL | |||||||
| February 17, 2021 12:00 p.m., BTN |
at No. 9 Maryland | L 58–103 | 3–14 (1–13) |
Xfinity Center (0) College Park, MD | |||||||
| February 20, 2021 11:00 a.m., BTN |
at Rutgers | L 46–75 | 3–15 (1–14) |
Rutgers Athletic Center (0) Piscataway, NJ | |||||||
| February 24, 2021 6:00 p.m., BTN+ |
Northwestern | L 61–67 | 3–15 (1–15) |
State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL | |||||||
| February 28, 2021 1:00 p.m., BTN+ |
at Purdue | L 66–70 | 3–17 (1–16) |
Mackey Arena (130) West Lafayette, IN | |||||||
| March 5, 2021 4:00 p.m., BTN+ |
Minnesota | W 72–64 | 4–17 (2–16) |
State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL | |||||||
| Big Ten Women's Tournament | |||||||||||
| March 9, 2021 4:00 p.m., BTN |
(12) | vs. (13) Wisconsin First Round |
W 67–42 | 5–17 |
Bankers Life Fieldhouse (460) Indianapolis, IN | ||||||
| March 10, 2021 12:30 p.m., BTN |
(12) | vs. (5) Northwestern Second Round |
L 42–67 | 5–18 |
Bankers Life Fieldhouse (716) Indianapolis, IN | ||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. | |||||||||||
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Main article: 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
More information Poll, Pre- Season ...
| Poll | Pre- Season | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19 | Final |
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| AP | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||
| Coaches |
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| Increase in ranking | ||
| Decrease in ranking | ||
| Not ranked previous week | ||
| (RV) | Received Votes |
- Vozzelli Jr., Joe (March 10, 2021). "Illini blitz Badgers early, deliver convincing first round knockout". The News-Gazette. Champaign, Illinois. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
- "2020-21 Women's Basketball Schedule". University of Illinois Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. n.d. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
- Richey, Scott (December 22, 2020). "Second postponement for Illini women's basketball". The News-Gazette. Champaign, Illinois. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
- Richey, Scott (December 18, 2020). "UI women's basketball game postponed". The News-Gazette. Champaign, Illinois. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
- Vozzelli Jr., Joe (January 13, 2021). "Thursday's game against Michigan State postponed for Illini women's basketball". The News-Gazette. Champaign, Illinois. Retrieved March 24, 2021.