Geno Auriemma Reflects on UConn’s Recent Final Four Challenges
TAMPA, Fla. — When it comes to NCAA basketball, few names resonate as powerfully as Geno Auriemma. With 11 NCAA basketball titles under his belt, Auriemma stands as the most successful coach in the history of the sport. However, his last championship win dates back to 2016, and since then, the UConn Huskies have faced some tough losses in the women’s Final Four.
As Auriemma prepares for his 13th NCAA championship game at his 24th Final Four, he reflects on the past. The losses themselves, he admits, aren’t as troubling as the decisions he made during those games. With a matchup against South Carolina looming on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, ABC), Auriemma is focused on making the right calls.
“I’ve lost more Final Fours for my team than they have, because coaches make decisions about what to do with their team,” Auriemma said Saturday. “And if you make the right decision, you win.”
UConn’s dominance was evident when they secured four consecutive NCAA titles from 2013 to 2016, led by the exceptional Breanna Stewart. However, the following years brought heartbreak. In 2017 and 2018, UConn lost by two points in overtime during the national semifinals, falling to buzzer-beating shots by Mississippi State’s Morgan William and Notre Dame’s Arike Ogunbowale, respectively.
Auriemma doesn’t see these losses as mere frustrations. “I don’t look at those two as heartbreaking frustrations,” he said. “I would have if I didn’t make two decisions in both of those games that I think have more to do with us losing than those two buzzer-beaters.”
He continued, “So that’s the frustration that I take away from that: ‘Why do you keep screwing it up for these guys?'”
While Auriemma didn’t specify the decisions he regrets, he acknowledged that coaches often can’t be sure if their choices are right or wrong until the game concludes.
The challenges continued in 2019 when the Huskies lost again to Notre Dame in the national semifinals, this time by five points. A surprising 10-point loss to underdog Arizona in the 2021 national semis added to UConn’s unexpected defeats.
In 2022, UConn faced South Carolina in the title game. Despite being slight underdogs, injuries and illness further disadvantaged the Huskies, leading to a 64-49 defeat.
UConn’s star guard, Paige Bueckers, suffered a knee injury in the summer of 2022, missing the 2023 NCAA tournament. This absence broke the Huskies’ streak of 14 consecutive Final Fours.
Last year, a late moving screen call against UConn senior Aaliyah Edwards contributed to another two-point national semifinal loss, this time to Iowa.
Now, UConn is once again on the brink of a championship. After enduring multiple season-changing injuries to players like Bueckers and Azzi Fudd in recent years, Auriemma is optimistic about his team’s health heading into this Final Four.
- UConn’s last championship win was in 2016.
- Geno Auriemma has won 11 NCAA basketball titles.
- UConn lost in the national semifinals in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021.
- Paige Bueckers missed the 2023 NCAA tournament due to injury.
“The fact that we sort of have a chance to be able to manipulate the game a little bit better than we had before, that’s rewarding,” Auriemma said. “That makes up for all the heartache and all the trauma and tribulations that we have had to go through.”
Originally Written by: Michael Voepel
