Geno Auriemma embarrasses self, UConn with Dawn Staley tiff | Opinion

Nancy Armour, USA TODAYSat, April 4, 2026 at 4:02 AM UTC

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Geno Auriemma was wrong.

He was wrong to throw Dawn Staley under the bus in an in-game interview.

He was wrong to confront her near the end of the game.

He was wrong to leave the court without shaking hands with Staley.

And he was wrong to suggest Staley didn’t shake his hand prior to the game and that a South Carolina player had ripped Sarah Strong’s jersey when there is evidence to the contrary of both.

More: Geno Auriemma, Sarah Strong offer differing opinions on Final Four jersey rip

For someone who has done so much for the game, this was a low point in Auriemma’s career. Maybe the lowest. He diminished this game and, what’s worse, he overshadowed everything his team had done leading up to it.

“Here at Connecticut, we have won so much that I think we know how to win. I think we know how to win with class and we know how to win with dignity. We win with humility,” Auriemma said after UConn’s 54-game win streak ended in a 62-48 loss to South Carolina in the Final Four on Friday, April 3.

1 / 0Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma bring intensity to SC‑UConn. See photos

The Final Four matchup between South Carolina and UConn was played with intensity throughout, with emotions building as the game reached its closing stretch.That tension surfaced late as the outcome was decided, leading to visible reactions and an exchange between two of women’s basketball’s most prominent coaches.Above, UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma and South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley react during the second half of the 2026 Women’s Final Four semifinal at Mortgage Matchup Center.

“But the true test is how you handle yourself in this moment. The way they were in the locker room, how they handled that moment. I want always for our team to be able to handle both moments the exact same way,” Auriemma added. “No one's won as much as we have. So when you are part of that, you have to be gracious in your losing.

“I never want it to be anything other than that. And treat people with respect.”

Yet Auriemma did none of that.

Listen, everyone chirps at the refs. Auriemma. Staley. Vic Schaefer. Kim Mulkey. Jeff Walz. If you’re not playing the game on the sidelines, are you even playing the game? And Auriemma, with his 12 national titles and 25 Final Four appearances, gets more leeway than most.

This is not unique to the women’s game, mind you. The “interactions” Dan Hurley, Auriemma’s counterpart at UConn, has had with referees has been a focal point at the men’s Final Four.

But Auriemma crossed the line between being a passionate defender of his team and being a crybaby.

Late in the fourth quarter, he lamented the disparity in fouls during an in-game interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe. Fair. But then he made it personal, saying, “Their coach (Staley) rants and raves on the sideline, and calls the referee some names you don't want to hear.”

Shortly after, with the final seconds ticking down, Auriemma and Staley exchanged words and had to be separated by members of their staffs. While Staley looked around in confusion, Auriemma left the court, not staying for the traditional post-game handshake.

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Neither coach would elaborate on what was said or what led to the heated exchange. Though, to be fair, it wasn’t on Staley to explain it.

This was all on Auriemma. And he was in the wrong.

“I just said what I had to say,” Auriemma said when asked what had happened. “Nothing. Nothing.”

1 / 0Women’s Final Four showcases top-ranked teams going head-to-headTessa Johnson #5 of the South Carolina Gamecocks shoots the ball against Sarah Strong #21 of the UConn Huskies during the third quarter in the Final Four of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Mortgage Matchup Center on April 03, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona.

That’s not good enough. If you’ve got a problem with another coach and you make it public, as Auriemma did, you owe an explanation. But Auriemma didn’t have one because there wasn’t one to give.

UConn didn’t lose because it got jobbed by the refs, even if South Carolina went to the line 22 times to the Huskies’ six. UConn lost, this game and its perfect season, because it couldn’t handle South Carolina’s defensive pressure.

The defending national champions shot 31% for the game and were just 7 of 31 (less than 23%) in the second half. Strong, the national player of the year, went 30 minutes — 30 minutes!!! — without a field goal between late in the first quarter and midway through the fourth, and finished 4 of 16. Azzi Fudd, the Most Outstanding Player of last year’s title game, was 3 of 15.

South Carolina overwhelmed UConn in rebounds (47 to 32), points in the paint (34 to 20) and fast-break points (16 to nine).

Shall I continue?

This wasn’t about the refs. This was about a South Carolina team that’s been nursing a grudge since last year’s title game and put UConn through the woodchipper when it finally got the chance.

“All the credit to them for how they played and how hard they played and the shots they made when they had to make them,” Auriemma said.

Yes. But for whatever reason, Auriemma just couldn’t give South Carolina, and Staley, their due. Instead of using this as fuel for next year’s squad — “We'll be back here next year. (Strong) will make sure of that,” Auriemma said — he had to go low.

When you try and drag someone else down into the muck, however, it's inevitable you're the one who ends up covered in it. But not only was Auriemma covered in it, everyone else on the floor was, too. The lasting memory of this game won't be South Carolina's defense or Ta'Niya Latson's outstanding performance. It won't be that this was Fudd's final game in a UConn uniform.

It will be Auriemma and his tantrum.

Auriemma might be the greatest coach there is, in the women's game and any other. His record and accolades speak for themselves.

On this night, though, Auriemma was a loser. A sore one, at that.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Geno Auriemma was a sore loser for late-game criticism of Dawn Staley

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