The UConn Huskies suffered a blowout loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Final Four on Friday night, and head coach Geno Auriemma was not happy about anything.
In the closing minutes of the 62-48 season-ending loss, Auriemma blasted the officials and called out South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley during a TV interview.
“There were six fouls called that quarter — all of them against us,” Auriemma said on the broadcast via ESPN. “And they’ve been beating the [expletive] out of our guys down there the entire game. I’m not making excuses, ’cause we haven’t been able to make a shot. But this is ridiculous.
“Their coach rants and raves on the sideline and calls the referee some names you don’t want to hear. And now we get 6 to 0, and I got a kid with a ripped jersey, and they go, ‘I didn’t see it.’ Come on, man. It’s for a national championship.”
During the final seconds of the game, Auriemma went to Staley directly to express his displeasure. The two got in a heated exchange and ultimately had to be separated by assistant coaches.
It’s not clear what led to the altercation. Staley wasn’t even fully sure after the game, though she suggested that Auriemma believed she did not shake his hand before the game.
“I have no idea,” Staley said when asked what happened between the coaches. “But I’m going to let you know this, I’m of integrity. I’m of integrity. So if I did something wrong to Geno, I had no idea what I did.
“I guess he thought I didn’t shake his hand at the beginning of the game. I didn’t know. I went down there pregame, shook everybody on his staff’s hand.
“I don’t know what he came with after the game,” she said, “but, hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on.”
Regardless, it’s clear that Auriemma was not pleased with the game, with the officials, with Staley, or with pretty much anything else. However, that will hardly matter since UConn’s season has ended and South Carolina will now be playing for a national championship.
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