ESPN analysts blast UConn coach Geno Auriemma’s actions in Final Four game
Two prominent ESPN women’s college basketball analysts called out Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma’s behavior during the Huskies’ loss to South Carolina on Friday in the NCAA Tournament Final Four.
The Gamecocks handed the No. 1 overall seed Huskies their first loss of the season in the 62-48 victory to move on to Sunday’s championship game against UCLA.
Just before the game ended, Auriemma confronted South Carolina coach Dawn Staley in the midcourt handshake line. Staley responded with some heated words. Auriemma then walked off the court without shaking any of the USC players’ hands.
“I say this, respecting the fact that Geno is the winningest coach in college basketball history. His behavior does not sit well with me,” ESPN’s Chiney Ogwumike said during halftime of the UCLA-Texas game. “Actually I find it quite problematic. Because if you followed the game, he insinuated that South Carolina tore Sarah Strong’s jersey. You find out that it was self-inflicted. It was not the Gamecocks.”
Ogwumike continued: “Secondly, he called out Dawn Staley in his interview at the end of the third quarter. I’ve never seen a coach do that, especially with this magnitude and on this stage. I have never seen a coach call out another coach when the other coach can’t hear them.”
Before the fourth quarter, Auriemma was interviewed ESPN’s Holly Rowe in which he said the Gamecocks were “beating the sh*t out of us” and critiqued Staley’s interactions with the refs. He also talked about Strong’s jersey being ripped, but the UConn star seemed to admit after the game that she caused it.
“I understand emotions are running high, but he put Dawn in a position where she always has to take the high road,” said Ogwumike, a former Stanford standout. “... Watching Geno Auriemma — and he is one of the greatest coaches we have ever seen — but I don’t like the behavior I saw. I know it is a tough night, but that shouldn’t happen.”
ESPN’s Andraya Carter said Auriemma’s actions could have been a calculated move done to deflect the attention away from his team’s performance. The Gamecocks were the better team, especially in the second half, and held the Huskies to just 48 points, their lowest output in a tournament game since losing to USC in the 2022 national championship.
“To me, it almost feels like because it’s so bad and it’s so out of line, it almost feels like it was on purpose — because the fact is his players got outplayed the entire game,” Carter said. “His players were outplayed. South Carolina’s players played better, but what are we talking about? Geno Auriemma against Dawn Staley. We’re taking attention off the game where South Carolina dominated to talk about Geno’s behavior.”
Color analyst Rebecca Lobo, who played for Auriemma at UConn from 1991-95, also talked about her former coach’s actions during ESPN’s broadcast of the Texas-UCLA game that followed USC-UConn. She didn’t seem too happy what she witnessed at the end of the Gamecocks-Huskies matchup.
“Geno Auriemma, this is his 25th Final Four,” Lobo said. “Thirteen times he has gone out without a championship, and every other time he has lost with class. ... It’s frustrating to see what transpired at the end of that game.”
Social media reacts, supports Staley
A number of prominent sports and media figures also reacted to Friday’s postgame confrontation and sided with Staley on X (formerly Twitter), including Stephen A. Smith, Lisa Leslie and Jalen Rose:
This story was originally published April 4, 2026 at 8:30 AM.
