The 2020–21 Michigan Wolverines women's basketball team represented the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

during the

2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season The 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began in November 2020 and ended with the 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Game, championship game of the 2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament at the Alamo ...

. The Wolverines, led by head coach

Kim Barnes Arico Kimberly Ann Barnes Arico (born August 9, 1970) is an American basketball coach and the current head coach of the Michigan Wolverines women's basketball team. She is the all-time winningest Michigan basketball coach. Previously, she was head co ...

in her ninth year, played their home games at the

Crisler Center Crisler Center (formerly known as the University Events Building and Crisler Arena) is an indoor arena located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the home arena for the University of Michigan's men's and women's basketball teams as well as its w ...

. This season marked the program's 39th season as a member of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. 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 Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

. The

2020 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament The 2020 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was scheduled to be played in March and April 2020, with the Final Four played Friday, April 3 and Sunday, April 5 to determine the champion of the 2019–20 NCAA Division I women's basketba ...

was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Roster

Schedule and results

, - ! colspan="9" style="background:#242961; color:#F7BE05;", Non-conference regular season , - ! colspan="9" style="background:#242961; color:#F7BE05;", Big Ten conference season , - ! colspan="9" style="background:#242961; color:#F7BE05;", Big Ten Women's Tournament , - ! colspan="9" style="background:#242961; color:#F7BE05;", NCAA Women's Tournament

Rankings

^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.

Awards and honors

On March 8, 2021, the Big Ten announced its conference awards.

Naz Hillmon Nazahrah Ansaria Hillmon (born April 5, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at Michigan Wolverines women's basketball, Mic ...

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 Leigha Brown (born July 14, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the AE Sedis Bàsquet of the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto. She played college basketball at Nebraska and Michigan. College career Brown began her collegiate at ...

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 The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

, and second-team by

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. Hillmon became the first Wolverine to be selected for

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in program history.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 Michigan Wolverines women's basketball team

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Michigan Wolverines women's basketball seasons