Geno Auriemma Embarrassed by UConn’s Win Over Michigan
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UConn Huskies may be undefeated this season, but their head coach is far from satisfied. The Huskies are entering Thanksgiving week with a 6-0 record after a 93-41 win over Utah. Despite the blowout win, Geno Auriemma, during the postgame press conference, chose to discuss the match his team played 48 hours before facing the Utes.
The Huskies faced the Michigan Wolverines before Utah and had a rather narrow escape that left Auriemma genuinely irritated. The match ended with Huskies winning 72–69, but the win didn’t feel like a win to him. And that's where Auriemma's issues with the team begin.
“I gotta be honest, I really thought it was an embarrassing performance by our team Friday night. Sarah Strong got 20 rebounds. The fact is, and I’m not saying this is true, but it almost becomes so easy to stand there and think, ‘Sarah will get it. I don’t have to. Sarah will get it.’ We made a huge point about that,” started Auriemma.
UConn Over-Relying on Sarah Strong?
And he is not wrong. UConn jumped out to a 22–5 first-quarter lead with Sarah Strong bulldozing the paint and Azzi Fudd breaking past the defense. It looked like an easy Huskies win until Michigan made a comeback with a 13-0 third-quarter push. That collapse became the backbone of Auriemma’s frustration.
However, it was not frustrations. Auriemma did praise Strong’s performance. In the matchup, Strong managed to make 16 points, 20 rebounds, and four blocks, dragging UConn through long stretches when nothing else was working. Despite the performance, Auriemma couldn’t stand that his team was slogging.
As Auriemma puts it, “We are not going to be the team that sits around watching and saying, ‘Sarah, get us 20 rebounds.’ That’s hard work. That kid was exhausted by the end of that game. I think they felt bad. I know Blanca (Quiñonez) did, and I know Azzi (Fudd) did. Rebounding is just, ‘I want to get it.’ That’s all it is. There’s a ball up there, and I want it. Great rebounders go get it. But first, you have to say, ‘I want to. I want to.’”
Sarah Strong might literally have eyes in the back of her head pic.twitter.com/feEegIccd1
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) November 22, 2025
Fudd, who scored a season-high 31 points, carried the offense when the Wolverines threatened to steal the game late. She hit two clutch free throws, twice, and buried a personal 9-0 run when the team desperately needed a change in tempo.
Meanwhile, Quiñonez played only 8 minutes, scoring 2 points. But for Auriemma, none of it erased the core problem of not enough players going after the ball like they truly wanted it. And yet, that’s exactly why this version of UConn is so compelling.
They’re unbeaten, but imperfect. The Michigan setback, if anything, helped the Huskies identify the changes they need to make to be ready for March. In fact, in the very next game against Utah, the Huskies made sure to fix it.
“There’s no argument about it, Sarah Strong is the best player in the country.” pic.twitter.com/pQSEl7QDMv
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) November 23, 2025
Against Utah, Fudd made 24 points and a career-high eight rebounds. Meanwhile, Quinonez had 21 points and five rebounds off the bench. And Strong kept her game solid as ever with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocked shots in 20 minutes.
Geno Auriemma Turns Focus to Big East Clash Post-Thanksgiving
Once the Utah win was in the books, Auriemma and the Huskies didn’t have a lot of time to take a break. UConn will face a post-Thanksgiving road test against Xavier on November 30. And the matchup looks lopsided on paper with UConn’s standing at 9-0 all-time against the Musketeers.
Xavier hasn’t beaten UConn since their first meeting in 1999, and the margins have swung from
60–51 win in 2023 to overwhelming blowouts. However, Auriemma knows all too well that dominance only survives if the habits survive.
This season, the Musketeers are coming in with a 4-2 record and will be looking to extend their two-game win streak. So, if the Huskies want to keep that undefeated record alive, they can’t rely on Sarah Strong to do all the heavy lifting. And Geno Auriemma made sure everybody knows it.
-fd44250df32912986cc6690f0b8bfa32.png "Shivani Menon")
Shivani Menon is a sports journalist with a background in Mass Communication and a passion for storytelling. She has written for EssentiallySports, College Sports Network, and PFSN, covering Olympic sports like track and field, gymnastics, and alpine skiing, as well as college football, basketball, March Madness, and the NBL Draft. When she's not reporting, she's either on the road chasing sunsets or getting lost in the rhythms of electronic soundscapes.