# 2020–21 Michigan Wolverines women's basketball team

The 2020–21 Michigan Wolverines women's basketball team represented the University of Michigan during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wolverines, led by head coach Kim Barnes Arico in her ninth year, played their home games at the Crisler Center. This season marked the program's 39th season as a member of the Big Ten Conference.
This season was highlighted by the Wolverines starting the season 10–0, their best start to a season in program history. They also reached No. 11 in the AP Poll, their highest rank ever, and were ranked the No. 6 seed in the 2021 NCAA tournament, their highest seed ever. The Wolverines also advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in program history.

## Previous season

The Wolverines finished the 2019–20 season with a 21–11 record, including 10–8 in Big Ten play to finish in seventh place. They advanced to the semifinals of the Big Ten women's tournament, where they lost to Ohio State. The 2020 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 25, 2020* 12:30 pm, BTN Plus | No. 25 | Central Michigan | W 93–75 | 1–0 | Crisler Center (0) Ann Arbor, MI |
| November 27, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 25 | at Oakland | W 95–62 | 2–0 | Athletics Center O'rena (0) Auburn Hills, MI |
| December 3, 2020* 6:00 pm, ACCN | No. 24 | at Notre Dame ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge | W 76–66 | 3–0 | Edmund P. Joyce Center (122) Notre Dame, IN |
| December 6, 2020* 12:30 pm, BTN Plus | No. 24 | Wright State | W 82–59 | 4–0 | Crisler Center (0) Ann Arbor, MI |
| December 9, 2020* 1:00 pm, BTN Plus | No. 19 | Butler | W 93–54 | 5–0 | Crisler Center (0) Ann Arbor, MI |
| Big Ten conference season ||||||
| December 19, 2020 12:00 pm, BTN | No. 19 | at Illinois | Postponed (COVID-19 pandemic) | Postponed (COVID-19 pandemic) | State Farm Center Champaign, IL |
| December 23, 2020 12:30 pm, BTN Plus | No. 17 | Penn State | Postponed (COVID-19 pandemic) | Postponed (COVID-19 pandemic) | Crisler Center Ann Arbor, MI |
| December 31, 2020 12:30 pm, BTN Plus | No. 16 | Wisconsin | W 92–49 | 6–0 (1–0) | Crisler Center (6) Ann Arbor, MI |
| January 3, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 16 | at No. 15 Northwestern | W 84–63 | 7–0 (2–0) | Welsh–Ryan Arena (0) Evanston, IL |
| January 7, 2021 6:00 pm, BTN Plus | No. 15 | Nebraska | W 64–62 | 8–0 (3–0) | Crisler Center (29) Ann Arbor, MI |
| January 10, 2021 1:00 pm, BTN Plus | No. 15 | Illinois | W 70–50 | 9–0 (4–0) | Crisler Center (50) Ann Arbor, MI |
| January 14, 2021 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 13 | at Wisconsin | W 69–40 | 10–0 (5–0) | Kohl Center (0) Madison, WI |
| January 18, 2021 12:30 pm, BTN | No. 11 | Michigan State Rivalry | Postponed (COVID-19 pandemic) | Postponed (COVID-19 pandemic) | Crisler Center Ann Arbor, MI |
| January 21, 2021 3:00 pm, BTN | No. 11 | at No. 17 Ohio State Rivalry | L 77–81 | 10–1 (5–1) | Value City Arena (0) Columbus, OH |
| January 24, 2021 2:00 pm, BTN | No. 11 | Purdue | Postponed (COVID-19 pandemic) | Postponed (COVID-19 pandemic) | Crisler Center Ann Arbor, MI |
| January 26, 2021 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 12 | at Michigan State Rivalry | Postponed (COVID-19 pandemic) | Postponed (COVID-19 pandemic) | Breslin Center East Lansing, MI |
| February 1, 2021 | No. 13 | at Rutgers | Postponed (COVID-19 pandemic) | Postponed (COVID-19 pandemic) | Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, NJ |
| February 4, 2021 6:00 pm, BTN | No. 13 | Minnesota | Postponed (COVID-19 pandemic) | Postponed (COVID-19 pandemic) | Crisler Center Ann Arbor, MI |
| February 7, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN/ESPN2 | No. 13 | Maryland | Postponed (COVID-19 pandemic) | Postponed (COVID-19 pandemic) | Crisler Center Ann Arbor, MI |
| February 11, 2021 6:00 pm, BTN | No. 12 | at Purdue | W 62–49 | 11–1 (6–1) | Mackey Arena (161) West Lafayette, IN |
| February 16, 2021 4:30 pm, BTN | No. 11 | Michigan State Rivalry | W 86–82 | 12–1 (7–1) | Crisler Center (50) Ann Arbor, MI |
| February 18, 2021 6:00 pm, BTN | No. 11 | at No. 14 Indiana | L 65–70 | 12–2 (7–2) | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (0) Bloomington, IN |
| February 21, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 11 | No. 15 Ohio State Rivalry | W 75–66 | 13–2 (8–2) | Crisler Center (73) Ann Arbor, MI |
| February 25, 2021 9:30 pm | No. 12 | at Iowa | L 67–89 | 13–3 (8–3) | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (332) Iowa City, IA |
| February 28, 2021 2:30 pm, BTN | No. 12 | at Minnesota | Cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic) | Cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| March 4, 2021 12:00 pm, BTN | No. 12 | No. 8 Maryland | L 63–88 | 13–4 (8–4) | Crisler Center (36) Ann Arbor, MI |
| March 6, 2021 3:00 pm | No. 12 | Northwestern | W 63–58 | 14–4 (9–4) | Crisler Center (60) Ann Arbor, MI |
| Big Ten Women's Tournament ||||||
| March 11, 2021 1:30 pm, FS2 | (4) No. 13 | vs. (5) Northwestern Quarterfinals | L 49–65 | 14–5 | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (779) Indianapolis, IN |
| NCAA Women's Tournament ||||||
| March 21, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | (6 RW) No. 16 | vs. (11 RW) No. 24 Florida Gulf Coast First round | W 87–66 | 15–5 | Convocation Center San Antonio, TX |
| March 23, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | (6 RW) No. 16 | vs. (3 RW) No. 13 Tennessee Second round | W 70–55 | 16–5 | Alamodome San Antonio, TX |
| March 27, 2021 3:00 pm, ABC | (6 RW) No. 16 | vs. (2 RW) No. 6 Baylor Sweet Sixteen | L 75–78 $^{OT}$ | 16–6 | Alamodome San Antonio, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. RW=River Walk Region. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking Movement Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Week 17 | Final |
| AP | 25 | 24 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 16 | N/A |
| Coaches | 24 | 24^ | 20 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 11 |
^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.

## Awards and honors

On March 8, 2021, the Big Ten announced its conference awards. Naz Hillmon was named Big Ten Conference Player of the Year and a unanimous All-Big Ten first team selection by both the coaches and media. Leigha Brown earned All-Big Ten second team honors by both the coaches and the media, and Akienreh Johnson was named to the All-Defensive team. Hillmon was also named a first-team All-American by Sports Illustrated, and second-team by Associated Press. Hillmon became the first Wolverine to be selected for All-America honors in program history.