UConn coach Geno Auriemma made history on Monday as his team secured a 73-53 victory over No. 21 Creighton, propelling him to second place for the most wins by a head coach in Division I men’s or women’s college basketball. Auriemma now holds an impressive 1,203 career wins, all achieved at UConn, surpassing the legendary Mike Krzyzewski. The only coach ahead of him is Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer, with 1,209 career wins across multiple coaching stints.
Reflecting on his milestone, Auriemma shared, “I think earlier in my career, to be honest with you, as things were happening that were very significant, they impacted me a lot more. But maybe the volume of things that have happened … I just take it in stride. You’re so fixated on winning, and you’re constantly being reminded every game of how many things your team’s not good at … you’re just so fixated on the things you have to fix, the things you have to correct. I’m sure there’ll be a time, this summer or next summer or whatever it is, when you think back and it’ll really have a huge impact on you.”
Auriemma, who is approaching 70 and is in his 39th season at UConn, has steered the program to unparalleled dominance, boasting six undefeated seasons, two win streaks of 90 or more games, and 11 national championship runs, the most of any coach in the sport’s history. However, he acknowledged that his perspective on winning has evolved, particularly in light of the numerous injuries that have plagued the Huskies program over the past three seasons. Currently, UConn is without five players due to injury, all of whom were expected to be significant rotation pieces or starters.
“I’m probably like a lot of our fans. We made it look so easy. It was never easy. But we made it look so easy for so long that you almost forget,” Auriemma remarked. “For me now, it’s like going back to the ’80s and ’90s where you had to play great and you knew that every game that you won was special. I’ve always said the only thing worse than losing is winning all the time.”
Notably, UConn’s streak of 14 consecutive Final Four appearances was halted in the previous NCAA tournament, marked by a loss to Ohio State in the Sweet 16. This setback came amidst former national player of the year Paige Bueckers’ absence due to an ACL tear, underscoring the challenges faced by the team.
