Geno Auriemma Scoffs at Jan Jensen’s UConn 'Blueprint' Claim

Geno Auriemma didn't seem to appreciate something Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Jan Jensen said about the UConn Huskies.

Dec 20, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma stands on the court during the first half against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Pamela Smith-Imagn Images | Pamela Smith-Imagn Images

There was a lot of mutual respect shown between Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Jan Jensen and UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma before their two women's college basketball teams played each other on December 20.

"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... 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," Jensen said about UConn when speaking with the media on December 16.

As for Auriemma, he said of Iowa, "They're really good. 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... 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.

Auriemma's Huskies squad went on to beat Jensen's Hawkeyes by a score of 90-64 on December 20. Jensen shared a clear message about the team that just beat her.

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 Pushes Back on Jan Jensen’s UConn Remarks

After that defeat, Jensen shared an interesting message about the "blueprint" for beating UConn.

“They are great. You watch what they did at USC, you watch what they did with Michigan. Michigan had a kid that turned into, that [Syla] Swords is pretty good, and she hit some Caitlin Clark-type shots, and they found a way. So, when you’re going to beat Connecticut, if you go back on who they’ve played and how they’ve done it, this is pretty much their blueprint," Jensen said, per a video from The Local W's YouTube channel.

This sentiment raised some eyebrows, if only because the fact that there might be a "blueprint" to beat a UConn team that hasn't lost since February and is fresh off a national championship doesn't seem to make much sense. Auriemma was asked if he had any thoughts about Jensen's UConn claim before the Huskies' December 28 game against Butler, and his blunt response suggested he didn't appreciate what was said.

"No, I don’t have any thoughts on it at all. If the blueprint is hope we miss shots. I mean, she could have asked me, I would have told her," Auriemma said per a YouTube video from The UConn Daily.

The reporter who asked the initial question that noted how Jensen said that teams have to score to beat UConn, Auriemma said, "Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. It’s called basketball. You know, you have to put the ball in the basket if you want to win.”

It will be interesting to see whether Jensen is asked about Auriemma's retort.