'We needed to see this’ - Illini Get Educational Look at Likely NCAA No. 1 Seed in Loss to UCLA

Illinois head coach Shauna Green has hope her program’s fifth loss of the 2025-26 season to a ranked team will serve as a preparation lesson for an upcoming March game.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

January 29, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — If Wednesday night served as possible preliminary contest to a future NCAA Tournament matchup for Illinois, the 13-point loss could represent something that might carry Shauna Green’s young team for the final two months.

While NCAA Tournament bracket projections are much more difficult to find in the women’s basketball . . .

 

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