Big Ten Announces 2026-27 Women's Basketball Conference Opponents
June 8, 2026 | Women's Basketball
News
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Conference opponents for the 2026-27 Big Ten regular season have been announced by the league office. Illinois and its Big Ten counterparts enter the third season of the expanded 18-team Big Ten schedule format, which calls for each school to play one team both home and away, and 16 teams once (eight home and eight away).
Illinois will play Northwestern twice, both home and away. The Fighting Illini will host Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State, Purdue, Washington, and Oregon. On the flip side, the Orange and Blue will visit Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio State, Rutgers, Wisconsin, UCLA, and USC.
Game dates, times, and television information will be announced at a later time.
The 2026-27 Big Ten Conference women's basketball season will culminate with the 34th Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, from March 3-7, 2027.
Illinois enters Year 5 under head coach Shauna Green while compiling a 51-15 record at home over the last four seasons, including five upsets of AP Top-20 ranked teams: No. 12 Iowa (1/1/23), No. 14 Indiana (2/19/24), No. 19 Florida State (11/7/24), No. 23 Iowa (1/9/25), and No. 7 Maryland (1/1/26).
Across her time at Illinois, Green has led the Illini to an 85-47 record, including a 39-33 mark in Big Ten play. In four seasons under Green, the Illinois women's basketball team has registered a program-best 85 wins under a head coach in their first four years, the first-ever postseason championship in program history (2024 WBIT), and four consecutive top-5 season attendances in State Farm Center. Additionally, the Illini have racked up nine AP Top 25-ranked wins, secured double-digit home victories for four-straight seasons for the first time in program history, won an NCAA Tournament game in back-to-back seasons, and brought in the No. 7-ranked recruiting class by espnW coming in for the 2025-26 campaign.
