# 2020–21 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team

The 2020–21 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team represented the University of Illinois during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Fighting Illini, led by fourth-year head coach Nancy Fahey, played their home games at State Farm Center as members of the Big Ten Conference. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, they played fewer non-conference games than in previous seasons; three games were originally postponed and later canceled due to the pandemic. They finished the season 5–18, 2–16 in Big Ten play to finish in thirteenth place. They lost in the second round of the Big Ten women's tournament to Northwestern. Their first round win against Wisconsin was the first Big Ten tournament victory in coach Fahey's tenure at Illinois.

## Previous season

The Illini finished the 2019–20 season 11–19, 2–16 in Big Ten play to finish in 13th (of 14) place. They lost in the first round of the Big Ten women's tournament to Wisconsin.

## Schedule and results

* Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, games were played without an audience, or with very limited attendance.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 25, 2020* 7:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Indiana State | W 68–49 | 1–0 | State Farm Center (103) Champaign, IL |
| December 2, 2020* 5:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Valparaiso | L 59–62 | 1–1 | State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL |
| December 6, 2020* 2:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Omaha | W 53–50 | 2–1 | State Farm Center (106) Champaign, IL |
| December 22, 2020* 2:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Southern Illinois | Canceled due to COVID-19 within the Southern Illinois program | Canceled due to COVID-19 within the Southern Illinois program | State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL |
| Big Ten conference season ||||||
| December 10, 2020 7:00 p.m., BTN | | at Nebraska | L 72–78 | 2–2 (0–1) | Pinnacle Bank Arena (0) Lincoln, NE |
| December 19, 2020 11:00 a.m., BTN | | No. 19 Michigan | Canceled due to COVID-19 within the Michigan program | Canceled due to COVID-19 within the Michigan program | State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL |
| December 31, 2020 11:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at No. 20 Indiana | L 56–79 | 2–3 (0–2) | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (0) Bloomington, IN |
| January 3, 2021 1:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Iowa | L 68–107 | 2–4 (0–3) | State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL |
| January 7, 2021 6:00 p.m., BTN | | No. 16 Ohio State | L 55–78 | 2–5 (0–4) | State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL |
| January 10, 2021 12:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at No. 15 Michigan | L 50–70 | 2–6 (0–5) | Crisler Center (50) Ann Arbor, MI |
| January 14, 2021 6:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Michigan State | Canceled due to COVID-19 within the Michigan State program | Canceled due to COVID-19 within the Michigan State program | State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL |
| January 21, 2021 6:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at No. 21 Northwestern | L 54–73 | 2–7 (0–6) | Welsh–Ryan Arena (0) Evanston, IL |
| January 25, 2021 7:00 p.m., BTN | | Nebraska | L 53–57 | 2–8 (0–7) | State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL |
| January 28, 2021 6:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Penn State | L 76–80 | 2–9 (0–8) | State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL |
| January 31, 2021 2:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at Wisconsin | L 57–69 | 2–10 (0–9) | Kohl Center (0) Madison, WI |
| February 4, 2021 7:00 p.m., BTN | | at Michigan State | L 60–81 | 2–11 (0–10) | Breslin Center (0) East Lansing, MI |
| February 7, 2021 2:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Purdue | W 54–49 | 3–11 (1–10) | State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL |
| February 10, 2021 6:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at Minnesota | L 73–83 | 3–12 (1–11) | Williams Arena (0) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 14, 2021 2:00 p.m., BTN+ | | No. 15 Indiana | L 50–58 | 3–13 (1–12) | State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL |
| February 17, 2021 12:00 p.m., BTN | | at No. 9 Maryland | L 58–103 | 3–14 (1–13) | Xfinity Center (0) College Park, MD |
| February 20, 2021 11:00 a.m., BTN | | at Rutgers | L 46–75 | 3–15 (1–14) | Rutgers Athletic Center (0) Piscataway, NJ |
| February 24, 2021 6:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Northwestern | L 61–67 | 3–15 (1–15) | State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL |
| February 28, 2021 1:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at Purdue | L 66–70 | 3–17 (1–16) | Mackey Arena (130) West Lafayette, IN |
| March 5, 2021 4:00 p.m., BTN+ | | Minnesota | W 72–64 | 4–17 (2–16) | State Farm Center (0) Champaign, IL |
| Big Ten Women's Tournament ||||||
| March 9, 2021 4:00 p.m., BTN | (12) | vs. (13) Wisconsin First Round | W 67–42 | 5–17 | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (460) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 10, 2021 12:30 p.m., BTN | (12) | vs. (5) Northwestern Second Round | L 42–67 | 5–18 | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (716) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Rankings

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