Geno Auriemma Admits 'Humbled' Feeling of Dominant UConn Final Four Win

UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma is feeling good about what he saw from his team during their Final Four win.

Apr 4, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) reacts with head coach Geno Auriemma on the bench during the fourth quarter in a semifinal of the women's 2025 NCAA tournament against the UCLA Bruins at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The UConn Huskies women's basketball team chose a great time to play what has to be its overall best game of the season, as they completed an 85-51 rout over the UCLA Bruins in the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Friday.

It's hard to imagine any way the Huskies could have played better on the evening. Not only were they firing on all cylinders on offense, but the team-wide effort they made to slow Bruins star center Lauren Betts down was nothing short of extraordinary. And now the Huskies are just one win away from securing their program's first NCAA national championship since 2016.

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma spoke with the media after the game. And at one point, he got honest about the performance he saw from his squad on Friday.

"I have to say that this was somewhat unexpected," Auriemma said of the win, per SNY. "You know, you always go into these games this time of the year expecting it to be incredibly, incredibly difficult. And not that it wasn't, because I think our guys played about as hard as any group of kids could play. But I don't think we made a mistake the entire evening, especially on the defensive end.

"I'm just incredibly proud of these guys and what they were able to do, and how it was a complete team effort... UCLA is just really, really good, and really, really hard to play against.

"And it took everything we had, and I'm really humbled by their performance tonight," he added.

"I don't think we made a mistake the entire evening, especially on the defensive end. I'm just incredibly proud of these guys and what they were able to do."

- Geno Auriemma pic.twitter.com/4r3bHjftya

— UConn on SNY (@SNYUConn) April 5, 2025

While UConn will be feeling good tonight (and rightfully so), they'll begin game planning for Dawn Staley's South Carolina Gamecocks tomorrow morning.