University of Illinois
Detroit Mercy
November 3, 2026 | Women's Basketball
Preview
| #23/22 Illinois vs. Detroit Mercy | |
|---|---|
| Date | Time | Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026 | 6 p.m. CT |
| Location | Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center |
| Tickets | Single Game | Season |
| Promotions | Home Opener | Digital Program |
| Live Stream | B1G+ | B1G+ App | WATCH |
| Radio | Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Listen | Varsity Network App |
| Live Stats | StatBroadcast |
| 2025-26 Stats | Illinois | Detroit Mercy |
| Game Notes | Illinois | Detroit Mercy |
| Availability/Interviews | Media Availability (11/3/26) | YouTube Playlist |
| Shop | Online Store | Auctions |
| Social Media | @IlliniWBB  | @IlliniWBB  | Facebook  | YouTube  | Fighting Illini App  |
Coach Green
Career Record: 241-122 (.664), 13th season
Division I Record: 212-97 (.686), 11th season
At Illinois: 85-47 (.644), Fifth season
Big Ten Record: 39-33 (.542), Fifth season
THE NEXT WIN WOULD...
- Move Green's career record to 242-122 in 13 seasons
- Move Green's DI record to 213-97 in 11 seasons
- Move Green's Illinois record to 86-47
- Improve Illinois to 5-0 in season openers under Green
- Mark 10-straight season-opener wins for Illinois
- Improve Green's career record in season openers (DI) to 10-1
- Move Illinois to 3-1 all-time vs. Detroit Mercy
- Improve Shauna Green to 1-0 all-time vs. Detroit Mercy
- Give Illinois WBB an all-time record of 732-787
LIVE STREAM
Fans unable to attend Wednesday night's game can watch Illinois vs. Detroit Mercy online by purchasing a subscription to B1G+, a streaming service of non-televised events produced by the Big Ten Network in partnership with the Big Ten Conference schools.
Fans who sign up can choose either the monthly rate of $12.99 or the annual rate of $89.99. The B1G+ subscription includes access to live streaming of non-televised games, next day on-demand archives, and access to Big Ten Network's library of Illinois' previous season classics and originals.
OPENING TIP
No. 23/22 Illinois faces Detroit Mercy on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 6 p.m. CT in State Farm Center. Action will be on B1G+ with Scott Sudikoff (pxp), Genesis Bryant (color), and Izzy Phillips (sideline) on the call.
Mike Koon (PxP) and Kendall Bostic (analyst) will call the action for the Illini on the Busey Bank Illini Sports Network (1400 AM/93.9 FM). Streaming, audio, and stats links are also available at FightingIllini.com/WBB.
The Fighting Illini enter Year 5 under the guidance of Shauna Green. Wednesday's contest marks the Illini's home opener for the 2026-27 season
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Detroit Mercy went 7-24 overall last season and 4-16 in Horizon League play. The Titans enter their second season under head coach Kiefer Haffey in 2026-27. Detroit Mercy was picked to finish ninth in the Horizon League preseason coaches poll. They opened their season Monday night with a 94-30 victory over Michigan-Dearborn before making the trip to Champaign.
ALL-TIME SERIES INFO
Illinois and Detroit Mercy will square off for the fourth all-time meeting on Wednesday and second from Champaign. The Illini have won the last two meetings to lead the series 2-1. The Titans won the first game between the sides during the 1979-80 campaign.
SEASON OPENERS
Illinois has seen continued success in season-opening matchups, posting a 17-4 record in its previous 21 season openers. Under coach Shauna Green, the Illini have gone 4-0 in those outings. Last year, Illinois began its season with a 91-67 win over SEMO at State Farm Center
Green is 9-1 in season openers in her 10 years as a Division I head coach, with her only loss coming in her first season at Dayton.
PRESEASON RANKING
For the second time under head coach Shauna Green, Illinois women's basketball is ranked in the Associated Press Preseason Poll. The Fighting Illini come in at No. 23, matching their 2023-24 ranking under Green.
Prior to the ranking ahead of Green's second season at the helm of the Orange and Blue, Illinois had not appeared in an AP Preseason Top-25 Poll since the 1999-2000 campaign.
The 2026-27 season marks the fifth time in program history that Illinois has appeared in the AP Preseason Poll. Prior to this year, the Illini had appeared ahead of the 1997-98 (No. 7), 1998-99 (No. 25), 1999-2000 (No. 12), and 2023-24 (No. 23) campaigns – with the first four occurrences coming under Hall of Fame head coach Theresa Grentz.
Illinois has now appeared in an AP Top-25 poll at some point during the season all five years under Green. The Illini have been ranked in 12 combined AP polls under Green. In 2022-23, the Illini appeared in four Top-25 polls, followed by the preseason rankings in 2023-24, five weeks across 2024-25, on Jan. 12, 2026, and most recently in the 2025-26 preseason ratings.
LAST TIME OUT
No. 23/22 Illinois opened the 2026-27 campaign with an 88-44 exhibition win over UIS at State Farm Center on Friday night. All 12 players available made an appearance for the Fighting Illini, while three student-athletes saw their first action with the Orange and Blue.
Four Illini scorers finished in double figures, led by Gretchen Dolan's 14-point effort. She also added four rebounds. Aaliyah Guyton went a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, finishing with 14 points, seven assists, two rebounds, a steal, and zero turnovers. Maddie Webber contributed 11 points and five rebounds off the bench, while Manuella Alves amassed 11 points, four steals, four rebounds, and a block.
THE SHAUNA GREEN EFFECT
Illinois' 85 wins through Green's first four seasons are the second-most in a four-year span while also marking the most by a head coach in their first four years with the Orange and Blue. Across that period, Illinois is 51-15 at home under Green, and the program has secured double-digit wins in four straight seasons for the first time in program history. The Illini won 11 consecutive games from Nov. 18, 2025-Jan. 1, 2026, a new single-season program record despite being the youngest team in the Big Ten and third-youngest Power 4 team in the country.
THE RETURN
Envied by many, the Illinois staff has done a remarkable job with roster retention year after year. From the 2025-26 squad, 11 of 14 players with remaining eligibility returned to Illinois for the 2026-27 campaign. In terms of production, that equates to the top nine scorers as well as 99.27% of points scored, 97.65% of minutes played, and 100% of games started.
HOME ATTENDANCE NUMBERS
2022-23: Across 15 home games, Illinois Women's Basketball saw 52,295 fans fill the State Farm Center en route to a 12-3 record. That total attendance ranked fifth in program history and made Shauna Green the only head coach to bring in 50,000 or more fans in her first season with the Illini.
2023-24: In Illinois' season - and home - opener, the attendance of 2,680 marked the largest ticketed season-opening crowd at State Farm Center since 2000 (3,954). In the Illini's 17 home games, Illinois finished with a combined attendance of 63,242 for an average of 3,720 a game. 63,242 is now the fifth-best all-time attendance.
2024-25: Illinois' season average finished at 4,967 per game across 17 home regular-season contests. The Illini went 14-3 at State Farm Center. Illinois' total attendance of 84,437 during the 2024-25 campaign ranked second-best in a season in program history.
2025-26: Illinois' first attendance of 4,227 was the largest crowd at a home opener since 1997-98 (8,275). A crowd of 14,361 was called for Field Trip Day, the third-largest mark in program history, and largest ever for both Field Trip Day and a non-conference game. The Feb. 8 game vs. USC was sold out, with all 15,544 tickets purchased to mark the third sellout in program history in SFC and first under Shauna Green. The average attendance finished at 5,766, the third-best mark in program history. The total attendance of 98,014 is the second-highest mark ever.
A FAMILIAR FACE
On May 26, 2026, Coach Green announced the hiring of Simon Harris as an assistant coach. Harris also worked under Green from 2016-18 at Dayton, and both were assistants on Dayton's 2014-15 Elite Eight coaching staff.
Most recently, Harris returned to NC State for his second stint as an assistant coach during the 2025-26 campaign. Prior to that, Harris joined the Loyola Chicago staff as an assistant coach from 2023-25. Harris spent the 2021-22 campaign at ETSU, where he was the head coach.
Harris served as an assistant coach at Ohio State from 2020-21 following his first stint at NC State from 2018-20. From 2014-18, the Pittsburgh, Pa., native worked with the Dayton women's program after spending 2011-14 on the men's side.
During his time at UD, he crossed paths with Shauna Green and Calamity McEntire.
