Green Street It's game week
- Story byThe News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
- Green Street It's game week
Oct. 26—has kept her team's preparation for the 2026-27 season the same.
Even if the structure of the women's college basketball season did undergo some changes with the ability to schedule more preseason exhibition games.
Advertisement
Illinois had its secret scrimmage and is now getting ready for its lone exhibition game on Friday against Illinois-Springfield at State Farm Center. That's been the routine Green has largely had stay in place during her now five seasons as the Illini coach.
How much Illinois learns from its only exhibition game is probably more centered on getting players a chance to take part in a game setting before the new season gets officially underway a week from Wednesday on Nov. 4 when the Illini host Detroit Mercy in the season opener.
That's particularly relevant to the likes of , who has not played in a game setting in more than one year with the now Illini redshirt freshman center missing the entire 2025-26 season with a torn ACL in her knee suffered in preseason workouts. An exhibition will also be important to the newcomers on the Illini roster with Green and Co. bringing in LSU transfer guard , junior-college transfer guard and freshman forward in the offseason.
Otherwise, this is an Illinois roster that has a familiarity about it — even if it's only had one year of experience together. The fact is the Illini retaining the top nine players in the rotation and 11 players in total from last season's 22-win NCAA tournament team makes it to where it's valid to need just one exhibition game and a scrimmage before diving right into the season itself.
A season with high expectations again given Illinois opened at No. 23 in The Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll.
