# 2019–20 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team

The 2019–20 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team represented the University of Illinois during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Fighting Illini, led by third-year head coach Nancy Fahey, played their home games at State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 11–19, 2–16 in Big Ten play, to finish in thirteenth place. They lost in the first round of the Big Ten tournament to Wisconsin.

## Previous season

The Fighting Illini finished the 2018–19 season 10–20, 2–16 in Big Ten play, to finish in last place. They lost in the first round of the Big Ten tournament to Purdue.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 5, 2019* 11:00 a.m., BTN+ | | Chicago State | W 96–66 | 1–0 | State Farm Center (4,189) Champaign, IL |
| November 9, 2019* 2:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Holy Cross | W 78–75 $^{OT}$ | 2–0 | State Farm Center (1,240) Champaign, IL |
| November 13, 2019* 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Austin Peay | W 76–62 | 3–0 | State Farm Center (1,010) Champaign, IL |
| November 16, 2019* 2:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Illinois State | L 58–74 | 3–1 | State Farm Center (1,520) Champaign, IL |
| November 21, 2019* 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | W 65–50 | 4–1 | State Farm Center (1,045) Champaign, IL |
| November 24, 2019* 2:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Bryant | W 69–55 | 5–1 | State Farm Center (1,199) Champaign, IL |
| November 30, 2019* 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Presbyterian | W 71–52 | 6–1 | State Farm Center (1,058) Champaign, IL |
| December 5, 2019* 5:00 p.m., ACCN | | at North Carolina ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge | L 60–85 | 6–2 | Carmichael Arena (2,116) Chapel Hill, NC |
| December 10, 2019* 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Merrimack | W 75–72 | 7–2 | State Farm Center (960) Champaign, IL |
| December 15, 2019* 2:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Evansville | W 59–44 | 8–2 | State Farm Center (1,383) Champaign, IL |
| December 20, 2019* 12:00 p.m., SECN | | at Missouri | W 58–51 | 9–2 | Mizzou Arena (4,332) Columbia, MO |
| Big Ten conference season ||||||
| December 28, 2019 2:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Northwestern | L 50–77 | 9–3 (0–1) | State Farm Center (2,099) Champaign, IL |
| December 31, 2019 3:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at Iowa | L 72–108 | 9–4 (0–1) | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (6,942) Iowa City, IA |
| January 6, 2020 6:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 12 Indiana | L 42–83 | 9–5 (0–3) | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (3,024) Bloomington, IN |
| January 9, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Rutgers | L 51–75 | 9–6 (0–4) | State Farm Center (997) Champaign, IL |
| January 12, 2020 2:00 p.m., BTN | | Minnesota | W 74–71 | 10–6 (1–4) | State Farm Center (1,333) Champaign, IL |
| January 16, 2020 6:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at Purdue | L 67–81 | 10–7 (1–5) | Mackey Arena (5,886) West Lafayette, IN |
| January 19, 2020 1:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at Ohio State | L 47–77 | 10–8 (1–6) | Value City Arena (5,143) Columbus, OH |
| January 23, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | No. 20 Maryland | L 60–79 | 10–9 (1–7) | State Farm Center (1,088) Champaign, IL |
| January 30, 2020 6:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at Rutgers | L 41–72 | 10–10 (1–8) | Louis Brown Athletic Center (1,359) Piscataway, NJ |
| February 2, 2020 2:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Wisconsin | L 64–73 | 10–11 (1–9) | State Farm Center (2,388) Champaign, IL |
| February 6, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Ohio State | L 58–78 | 10–12 (1–10) | State Farm Center (2,388) Champaign, IL |
| February 9, 2020 1:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at Penn State | W 70–66 | 11–12 (2–10) | Bryce Jordan Center (4,592) University Park, PA |
| February 13, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | No. 20 Indiana | L 54–59 | 11–13 (2–11) | State Farm Center (1,145) Champaign, IL |
| February 16, 2020 2:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Purdue | L 58–70 | 11–14 (2–12) | State Farm Center (2,119) Champaign, IL |
| February 19, 2020 6:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at Michigan | L 59–80 | 11–15 (2–13) | Crisler Center (2,388) Ann Arbor, MI |
| February 22, 2020 2:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at Nebraska | L 58–80 | 11–16 (2–14) | Pinnacle Bank Arena (5,044) Lincoln, NE |
| February 26, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Michigan State | L 58–72 | 11–17 (2–15) | State Farm Center (1,176) Champaign, IL |
| February 29, 2020 1:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 14 Northwestern | L 58–75 | 11–18 (2–16) | Welsh–Ryan Arena (4,016) Evanston, IL |
| Big Ten women's tournament ||||||
| March 4, 2020 1:00 p.m., BTN | (13) | vs. (12) Wisconsin First round | L 55–71 | 11–19 | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (3,793) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
Source:

## Rankings

Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| (RV) | Received votes |