Geno Auriemma’s 3-Word Iowa Take Sets Tone for UConn Showdown

UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma assessed the Iowa Hawkeyes before facing them on Saturday.

Nov 16, 2025; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma watches from the sideline as they take on the Ohio State Buckeyes at Peoples Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

The No. 1-ranked UConn Huskies women's basketball team cruised to another easy win on December 17, as they beat Marquette by a score of 89-53.

While Geno Auriemma's squad was outscored 24-16 in the fourth quarter, they already held a huge lead at that point and were resting all of their top players. Now the Huskies will bring an undefeated 11-0 record into their game against the No. 11-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes at the Barclays Center on December 20.

Iowa head coach Jan Jensen spoke with the media on December 16 and addressed the tough task ahead of her with UConn, saying, "I think this team has the potential to go down as one of Geno's best teams. Every single one of them, even the ones that come off the bench — [they] are deep off the bench — are really, really good... I feel like this particular team, they have a very intense defensive balance to them."

Jansen then added, "I think the key [against UConn] is, really, you have to stay in the moment [against UConn]. I know it sounds clichè, but they can turn you over so fast, UConn, that if you don't stay in that next play, it's just gonna happen, and happen, and happen... With a team like UConn that is so fast, and they're almost flawless in every aspect of the game. There's no time to get too high, and certainly low."

Iowa Hawkeyes women' basketball head coach Jan Jensen reacts during the game against Iowa State in the NCAA women’s basketball Cy-Hawk Series on Dec. 10, 2025, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Geno Auriemma Gets Honest About Iowa Matchup

Geno Auriemma returned this praise from Jensen when asked about playing Iowa after Wednesday's win.

"They're really good," Auriemma said, per a video from UConn's YouTube channel. "They're really good because they're really well-balanced, you know? Their post players are really good, they're smart, they're tough, they finish around the basket. They make like eight or nine threes a game. So it's a good team that can do two things really well: They can score with their bigs in the lane, and their transition offense is really, really, really good.

"A lot of times, when you have a great transition offense, you're not throwing the ball in the lane a lot. But yeah, I think they're gonna be a real challenge, they're gonna be a real test for us, to see how good our defense really is. And especially our post defense," Auriemma continued.

"They're really good, though. They're really good," he concluded.

Auriemma clearly thinks highly of Iowa, and his team will need to come out firing on Saturday if they want to remain undefeated.